Men Around The Messenger

Translator's Preface

While reading this book, we cannot help but be moved by the lives of the Companions herein depicted. How we long to have their awe and reverence for Allah! How we long to spend the same hours in worship as they! How we long to be as brave as they were in the face of danger! How we long to be as patient as they were under torture!
Narrated `Abd Allah (May Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (PBUH) said, "The best people are those living in my generation, and then those who will follow them, and then those who will follow the latter. Then there will come some people who will bear witness before taking oaths, and take oaths before bearing witness." (Bukhaarii)
It is our hope that this book will fulfill a need for the English speaking Muslim to learn more about that first generation of Muslims. Indeed the Companions - those men and women who were contemporaneous with the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) -- inspire and encourage us. Read these stories and share them with your children, for these Companions are a part of our Islamic heritage that will, Allah willing, strengthen us as a nation if we try to follow their examples.
Enough said for the reason for choosing this book to translate, for the book stands on its own merit. Let us explain our reasons for some choices within the translation.
The translator is always faced with the question of how to transliterate Arabic names and whether to translate or transliterate Islamic terms. The reader may find the spelling of names in this book different than he or she is accustomed to. That is because we have chosen to transliterate as closely to the Arabic pronunciation as possible, believing that the English-speaking Muslim should make an effort to pronounce the names correctly. Lacking diacritic marks, we have transliterated the long vowels with double vowels, which should not confuse the reader. Please refer to the notes on transliteration which follow.
An exception to this is the spelling of some places names. If there is an English form of a name available, this has been used instead of a transliterated Arabic name.
As for Islamic terms, we felt that most of the terms left in the Arabic would be familiar to the Muslim reader, and they have not been italicized as foreign terms although, as noted above, their spelling may not be the usual one. Many of these words have been incorporated into the English language and may be found in many dictionaries, although the Muslim reader is not always satisfied with the dictionary's definition. Therefore, a glossary has been provided for those words which may not be familiar to all readers.
Number within parentheses refer to surah and verse of the Holy Qur'an.
Many thanks to those who helped in the translation, revision, editing and typing of this text: Dr. Ahlam Fathy, Dr. Amany Abu Al-Fadl, Mona Yunus, Raw'ah Al-Khateeb, Amal Abu Sitah, Dr. Abdul Karim Kamara, Professor `Umar Abdul Hakeem, Michael White and Nariman Ezz.
May Almighty Allah accept this work, and may we and all those who participated in the preparation of this text be accepted into the presence of the Most High on the day when nothing, neither wealth nor children, will be useful.

In The Name Of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful

Introduction


It was neither invented discourse nor false rumor that was recorded in history about the great company of men who came into the world of belief and faith. That is because the entirety of human history has never witnessed such accurate documentation, honesty, and investigation of facts as did that epoch of Islamic history and its men. An extraordinary human effort has been exerted to study and pursue its tidings. Successive generations of able and brilliant scholars have not left unexamined even the smallest details nor minutest explanations concerning that early epoch without putting them under microscopic investigation, scrutiny, and criticism.


The spectacular magnitude we encounter on the pages of this book of those colossal men of the Companions of the Messenger (PBUH) is not something legendary, even though they may seem like legends due to their miraculous nature! These are facts characteristic of the personality and life of the Prophet's Companions. They soar high and are exalted and ennobled, not because of the author or, depicter, but because of what the Companions themselves desired and the extraordinary and righteous effort they exerted for the sake of excelling and attaining perfection.


This book does not claim the power to present this immaculate and extraordinary magnitude to the reader. Suffice it to refer to its characteristics and to approach its horizon.


Surely history has not witnessed men who set their intentions and will to achieve a totally lofty and just goal and then devoted their entire lives to it in such an extremely fearless manner, with personal sacrifice and exertion, as it has witnessed in these men around the Messenger (PBUH).


They came to life at their appointed time and their promised day. When life was craving for someone to rejuvenate its spiritual values, those Companions came with their noble Messenger (PBUH) as heralds and sincere believers. When life was craving for someone to remove the shackles of troubled humanity and to liberate its existence and destiny, they came and stood by their great Messenger as revolutionaries and liberators. When life was craving for someone to present human civilization with new and sound inclination, they came as pioneers and luminaries.


How could those righteous men achieve what they did in a few years. How did they triumph over the ancient world, with all its empires and sovereignties, and turn it into a ruinous mount. How could they build with Allah's Qur'aan and His Words a new world reverberating with freshness, glittering with glory and surpassing in capability. Above all, how were they able, with the speed of light, to illuminate human conscience with the truth of monotheism and sweep away forever the paganism of ancient centuries. This was their real miracle!


Moreover, their real miracle resides in that remarkable psychological power with which they shaped their virtues and adhered to their faith in a manner that defies comparison.


However, all their achieved miracles were nothing but a modest reflection of the greater miracle that enlightened the world on the day Allah willed His noble Qur'aan to be sent down, His honorable Messenger to deliver the message, and the procession of Islam to start its paces on the road of enlightenment.


In this book, which was previously published in five separate parts and is issued now in a complete new edition, we present sixty personalities of the Prophet's Companions (May Allah have peace upon them all). As mentioned at the conclusion of this book, these sixty men represent several thousand others of their brethren who were contemporaneous with the Messenger (PBUH) and who believed in him and supported him. In their reflection we see the images of all the Companions. We see their faith, their constancy, their heroism and their loyalty to Allah and His Messenger (PBUH). We see the effort they exerted, the calamities they endured, and the victory they achieved. We also see the eminent role they played in liberating all humanity from the paganism of conscience and the loss of destiny. However, the reader will not encounter among these sixty the four Companions who were to become the Messenger's successors Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthmaan, and `Aliy. Allah has enabled us to devote a separate book for each one of them. The four books appeared as: Then Came Abu Bakr Between the Hands of Umar In the Presence of `Aliy and Farewell `Uthmaan.


Now let us approach in awe and delight those righteous men, to welcome the best human examples, the most graceful and most virtuous. Let us see under their humble garments the most sublime and lofty in greatness and wisdom known to the whole world. Let us witness the legion of truth treading the ancient world in piety, filling the sky with standards of new truth in which they announced the religion of monotheism and the liberation of mankind.

Khaalid Muhammad Khaalid

THE LIGHT THEY FOLLOWED
What a teacher he was, and what a man! He was filled with greatness, honesty, and sublimity! Truly, those overwhelmed with his greatness have their excuse, and those who sacrificed their lives for his sake are the most triumphant.


Muhammad lbn Abd Allah was Allah's Messenger to the people in the midsummer of life. What mystery was available to him that made him a man to honor among human beings And what grand hands did he extend towards heaven to let all the gates of mercy, blessing, and guidance open widely. What faith, what chastity, and what purity. What modesty, what love and what loyalty. What devotion to truth and what reverence to life and the living?


Allah bestowed upon him the amount of blessing to qualify him to carry His standard and speak for Him, and made him capable of being the last of His messengers. Therefore, Allah's bounty towards him was great. But however the brains, inspiration, and pens compete to talk about him or to sing hymns of praise to reveal his greatness, they all seem insignificant due to his superior traits.
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If the introductory pages of this book need to start with a talk about the Messenger (PBUH), they cannot hope to give him his due of praise nor claim that they are really introducing the great Messenger to the readers. It is only a mere reference to his eminence and some of his superior qualities which make people cherish him and which drew him an unprecedented loyalty by some of the figures mentioned in the book whether they were Muhaajiruun or Ansaar or from the Quraish.


No sooner had life emerged than Allah made all its breeze hail his coming, and sent messengers to all men everywhere, carrying the principles of the divine call and the fragrance of the caller, the truth of the teachings, the eminence of the master, the enlightenment of the message and the compassion of the Messenger (PBUH).


That is true. This was the main objective, no more. It is to perceive in the light of one of his beams some of the traits of his rare eminence that brought about the believers' loyalty and made them perceive in him the goal and the way, the teacher and the friend.
What made the nobles of his people hasten to his words and his religion. Abu Bakr, Talhah, Az-Zubair, `Uthmaan Ibn Affaan, Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn `Awf, and Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqaas, all abandoned in haste the wealth and glory of their community which surrounded them, receiving at the same time heavy burdens in life, full of cares, troubles, and conflict.


What made the weak of his community seek his protection, hasten to his standard and his call, when they saw him without wealth or weapon, with harm inflicted upon him and evil following him in a terrifying way, without his being able to avoid it;


What made the pre-Islamic tyrant `Umar lbn Al-thattaab, who went to cut off his noble head with his sword, return to cut off with the same sword - made sharper through faith - the heads of the Prophet's enemies and his persecutors.


What made the city's elite and noble men go to him and promise to be his companions, voluntarily embracing a set of trouble and terror, knowing that the struggle between them and the Quraish would be more horrifying than terror itself.


What made those who believed in him increase and not decrease, though he declared day and night, "I hold no good or harm for you. I do not know what will become of me or you"!


What made them believe that the world would open its countries to them and that their feet would be wading in the gold and crowns of the world. And that the Qur'aan they were reciting in secret would reverberate in strong tones and ringing voice, not only in their own generation or in their own peninsula but throughout the ages and everywhere.


What made them believe the prophecy told them by the Messenger, though when they turned right and left they found nothing except heat, barren land, and stones emitting boiling vapor, their pointed heads looking like devils' heads.


What filled their hearts with certainty and will- power. It was lbn `Abd Allah, who else could have done that they saw themselves with their own eyes all his virtues and all that distinguished him. They saw his chastity, his purity, his honesty, his straightforwardness, and his courage. They saw his superiority and his compassion. They saw his intellect and his eloquence. They saw the sun shining the way his truth and eminence shone.


They heard the growth of life running in his veins when Muhammad started to bestow upon them his daily revelation and his past contemplation. They saw all these and more, not through a mask but face to face and in practice, through their own vision and perception.


When an Arab of those days saw something, he would talk as an expert. The Arabs were people of perception and intuition. If one of them saw some footprints on the road, he would tell you, "These are the footprints of such-and-such a person." He would smell the breath of the one talking to him and realize what truth or falsity was inherent.


These men saw Muhammad and were his contemporaries since his coming into existence as a newborn babe. Nothing was concealed from them in his life. The stage of childhood which is unperceived by other than the child's people and close relations was, in the case of Muhammad, seen and perceived by all the people of Makkah. That was because his childhood was not like any other. It drew attention to itself for its early signs of manliness and initiative, and for rejecting the usual play of children for the seriousness of men.


As an example, the Quraish used to talk about `Abd Al Muttalib's grandson who kept away from the children's playgrounds and their celebrations, and used to say whenever he was invited to them, "I was not created for that."


Moreover, when his wet-nurse Haliimah took him back to his people, she told them her observations, her experience with the child, and what she saw in him to convince them he was not an ordinary child. She believed there was a hidden secret in him, unknown except to Allah, which might be revealed one day.


As to his youth, what chastity! He was clearer and more translucent. His people's preoccupation with him and their talk about him were more constant and praising. As to his manhood, it was fully perceived by every eye, ear, and heart. Above all, it was his community's conscience, measuring through his conduct and behavior all their visions of truth, goodness, and beauty.
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It was, then, a transparent and comprehended life from cradle to grave. All his visions, his steps, his words, his movements, even his dreams, his hopes, and his remembrances were the right of all the people from the first day he was born. It was as if Almighty Allah wished it to be like that to tell the people, "That is My Messenger to you; his way is through reason and intellect, and that is his whole life since he was a baby."


Therefore, with all you possess of reason and intellect, examine his life and judge. Do you perceive any sense of suspicion? Do you see any false matter? Did he ever tell a lie or betray anyone? Did he ever treat anyone unjustly? Did he ever expose a defect? Did he ever abandon his kinship relations? Did he neglect a duty or leave a noble action? Did he insult anyone or worship an idol? Peruse well and meticulously and investigate, as there is no stage of his life that is hidden or veiled.


If his life as you see and perceive is nothing but purity, truth, and eminence, does it appeal to reason or logic that a man of such traits would tell lies after the age of forty? About whom would he lie? About Allah in order to claim he was His Messenger (PBUH), chosen, selected, and inspired by Him?


No, this is the answer of feeling and intuition. What is your way of thinking and what right do you have to tell lies?


This, we believe, was the attitude of the early believers towards Allah's Messenger (PBUH), the Muhaajiruun as well as those who sheltered and supported him.


It was a firm and swift attitude that did not leave any place for hesitation or idleness. A man who had such a pure and enlightened life could not play false with Allah. With such sharp insight, the believers saw the light of Allah and the followed.


They would thank their insight when they saw later how Allah's Messenger (PBUH) was supported by Allah and how the whole peninsula was obliged to him. Many unperceived blessings and spoils were bestowed upon them while he became more modest, more austere, and more pious, until he met Allah at the appointed time, lying down on a mat that left its impressions on his body.


And when they saw him, the Messenger whose standards victoriously and proudly filled the horizon, descended the pulpit and received the people, saying while he wept, "Whoever's back I whipped, here is my back, let him take his revenge; whoever's money I took, here is my money, let him take of it."


The believers saw him while his uncle Al-Abbaas was asking him to offer him one of the jobs obtained by ordinary Muslims, and he gently apologized, saying, Truly, uncle, we do not offer that job to someone who asks or someone who cares for it."


They saw him not only sharing the trouble and hunger that befell people, but establishing for himself and his folk an unforsaken principle which was, "To be the first to feel hunger if people go hungry, and the last to satisfy his hunger when people were starving." Yes, the early believers would be more thankful for their insight which perceived things well even before they came, thanking Allah Who had guided them to faith.


They would also see that life which was the best proof of the truth of the Messenger (PBUH) when he said to them: "I am Allah's Messenger unto you." His life was truly eminent. Its eminence and purity are the best evidence of the truth of the great teacher and noble Messenger (PBUH). Its level of excellence and eminence never declined nor fell, but remained steadfast from cradle to grave. Throughout life and after reaching his prime, it was as clear as day that the man who led that life and conveyed such a message was not seeking wealth, money or sovereignty. When these were offered him on a golden platter associated with his triumphant leadership, he rejected them all and lived his life till the last breath devoting himself to Allah, repentant and chaste.


He never deviated from the purposes of his great life the breadth of a hair, and never broke a promise to Allah in worship or in jihaad.
No sooner would the latter part of the night begin than he would get up, make his ablution and remain as he was accustomed to do, invoking Allah, praying, and crying.


Mountains of wealth and money were accumulated in his possession, yet he did not change and never took of it except as the poorest and lowest of Muslims did. Then he died leaving only his armor in mortgage.


All the countries of the world came closer due to his call, and most of the kings of the earth stood before his message, in which he called them to Islam, in awe and supplication. Yet, not an atom of boasting or arrogance crossed his way even at a great distance. When he saw people approaching him troubled and disturbed out of awe and reverence, he said to them, "Be easy, my mother used to eat dried meat in Makkah."


When all the enemies of his faith put down their weapons and bowed their heads waiting for him to pass judgment and while 10,000 swords of the Muslims were glittering on the Day of Conquest over the hills of Makkah, he merely said to his enemies, "Disperse, you are free!"


Even at the height of the victory for which he devoted his life, he deprived himself of it. He walked in the victory procession on the Day of the Conquest bowing his head down until people could not see his face and repeated hymns of thanks to Allah in low tones, wet with tears, humbly raising his words to Allah until he reached the Ka'bah. He then confronted the idols and did what he did to them and said, "Truth has come and falsehood has vanished, indeed, falsehood is bound to vanish" (17: 81).


Is there any more doubt about his message? He was a man who dedicated his whole life to a call in which he had no personal gain of wealth, position, sovereignty, or power. Biographical immortality was not even considered by him because he believed solely in the immorality of the second life when one is in the hands of Allah.


He was a man who spent his life from childhood till the age of forty in purity and contemplation. Then he spent the rest of it in worship, guidance, jihaad and struggle, and when the world was brightened to him he rejected all its false glory and adhered to his way, his worship, and his message. How could such a man be a liar? Why should be tell lies? Surely, such a man and such a messenger was above that!



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We have mentioned that logic and reason were - and still are- the best proof of the truth of Muhammad (PBUH) when he said, "I am Allah's Messenger." It does not appeal to good logic or to sound reason that a man who lived such a good life lies about Allah. Early believers who hastened to believe in his message, and whom we are honored to know something about through the pages of this book, had such a relation with him after their guidance from Allah, which is the best evidence of logic and reason.


We see Muhammad (PBUH) before his message, and we see him after his message. We see him in his cradle, and we see him shrouded by death. But, have we seen any contradiction or inconsistency in all his life? Never!


Let us now approach the first years of his message. Those were years one rarely finds an equal to in the annals of history for the constancy, truth, and eminence. Those were the years which revealed, more than any others, all the facets of the teacher and guide of all humanity. Those were years that opened the living book of his life and heroism and, more than any other years, represented the cradle of his miracles.


Throughout those years, the Messenger of Allah was alone. He left all he possessed of comfort, security, and settled life. He approached the people with what they were not familiar, or rather with what they detested. He approached them and directed his words to their reasons, and it is a difficult task for a person who directs his speech to the minds of people instead of their feelings. The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (PBUH) did not only do that, since the consequence of addressing the mind might be bearable if you are standing within the circle of common conventions and common aspirations. But when you call them towards a distant future which you perceive but they do not, which you live in and they are not aware of, it is a difficult task. Indeed, when you address their minds and rise to destroy the essence of their lives from the base, though you do that in a sincere, honest way and not urged by a certain purpose or glory, it is a risk which cannot be taken except by the leaders of the righteous people and messengers.


The Messenger (PBUH) was the hero and great master of that situation. The form of worship at that time was worshiping idols, whose rites were observed as a religion. The Messenger (PBUH) did not turn to any maneuvers or intrigues. The unpaved road and the heavy burden would have been good excuses if he had used his brilliant mind to prepare them for the word "monotheism" instead of surprising them with it. He was able and it was his right to prepare to isolate the community from its idol-gods which had been handed down from generation to generation for centuries. He could have started by going around the issue to avoid as much as possible a direct confrontation he knew would bestir all the envy of his people and draw upon them all their weapons against him.


Yet, he did not. This illustrates that he was a Messenger (PBUH). He heard a divine voice within him telling him to rise, and he did, and telling him to deliver the message, and he did so without the force of weapons and without fleeing! He confronted them from the first instant with the essence of the message and the core of the case: "O people, I am the Messenger of Allah unto you, to worship Him and not to set partners with Him. These idols are intellectual falsehood. They are of no harm or benefit to you".


From the very beginning he faced them with such clear and plain words, and from the very beginning he faced the severe struggle which he had to undergo his departure from life!


Or were the early believers in need of a prompting power to support the Prophet (PBUH)!


What awakened conscience would not be stirred by such a rare and unique scene! It was the scene of a man known to the people to have full intellectual power and immaculate behavior, standing alone, facing his people with a call which could bring mountains down. Words were issuing forth from his heart and lips, obedient and superb, as if in them lay all the power, will, and design of the future, as if it were fate announcing its proclamation! But perhaps this was the prompting of a good spirit, after which Muhammad (PBUH) would worship his Lord as he liked, leaving the deities of his people in their place and leaving his community's religion alone.


If such a thought occurred to some minds at that time, Muhammed (PBUH) soon dissipated it. He made it quite clear to the people that he was a Messenger and had to convey the message, that he could not be silent nor turn into himself after being guided by the truth and enlightenment. All the powers of the world and nature could not have silenced him or stopped him because it was Allah Who made him speak and move and Who guided his footsteps.


The Quraish's reaction came as swift as flames stirred by a violent wind. Troubles began to be wreaked upon a soul unaccustomed to anything but absolute grace. The Messenger (PBUH) then began to teach his first lessons with utmost mastery and amazing loyalty. The image of this scene is paramount in all places and at all times, as well as in history. Those with an awakened conscience in Makkah were pleased, filled with admiration, and came closer. They beheld a lofty and majestic man. They did not know whether his neck had become longer until it was able to touch the sky or the sky had come down to crown his head. They beheld loyalty, steadfastness and eminence.


However, the best scene they beheld was on the day when the noblemen of the Quraish went to Abu Taalib saying, "Verily, we cannot tolerate a person who insults our fathers, mocks our dreams, and finds fault with our deities. You either stop him or we fight both of you until one of the parties is destroyed." Abu Taalib sent a message to his nephew saying, "My nephew, your people have approached me and talked about your affairs. You have to think of me and yourself and not burden me with what I cannot endure."


What then was the attitude of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)?
The only man who had stood with him seemed to be abandoning him, or rather seemed unable to confront the Quraish who sharpened all their teeth. The Messenger (PBUH) did not hesitate in his reply, and his determination did not waver. No! He did not even search for the words to show his tenacity. It was already there, efficiently rising to deliver one of his most significant lessons to the whole of humanity and to dictate its highest principles.


Thus he spoke: "O uncle, by Allah, if they put the sun on my right and the moon on my left in order to abandon this matter until it is manifested by Allah or I perish by it, I would never abandon it!" Peace be upon you, O Prophet of Islam, you who were colossal among men, and your words were colossal.


Abu Taalib thereupon restored his courage and the courage of his forefathers at once, clasped the right hand of his nephew with his two hands, and said, "Say what you like, for, by Allah, I will never force you to do anything at all."


Muhammad (PBUH) then did not depend on his uncle for protection and security, though his uncle was capable of that, but he was the one bestowing security, protection and steadfastness on people around him.


Any honest person who beholds a scene like that cannot but hasten to love, be loyal to, and believe in that Messenger (PBUH).


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His persistence regarding truth, his perseverence with the message, and his patience during great troubles were all for the sake of Allah and not for personal benefit. All these were bound to attract brilliant minds and to awaken the conscientious people to follow the light beckoning to them and hasten to the honest and true Messenger (PBUH) who came to purify our souls and guide us. People beheld him while harm was reaching him from every comer. The condolence he had sought in his uncle Abu Taalib and his wife Khadiijah was denied him because they both died within days of each other. Whoever desires to imagine the extent of persecution and war launched by the Quraish against the unarmed Messenger, suffice it to know that Abu Lahab himself, who was his most bitter rival and enemy, was so conscience-stricken one day by what he beheld that he announced he would protect the Messenger, help him, and stand against any aggression against him. But the Messenger refused his protection and remained lofty, raising his head and remaining loyal to his message. Nobody could avert harm from him because nobody dared to do so! Even the eminent Abu Bakr could do nothing but weep.


One day, the Messenger (PBUH) went to the Ka'bah and, while he was circumambulating it, the nobles of the Quraish who were waiting for him suddenly ran and surrounded him, saying, "Is it you that say such-and-such a thing about our deities?" And he calmly answered them, "Yes, I say that." They held him by the end of his clothes while Abu Bakr pleaded for his release, saying with tears pouring, "Are you going to kill a man for saying, Allah is my Lord?"


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Whoever saw the Messenger on the day of At-Taa'if was sure to see some example of his truth and loyalty worthy of him. He turned his face towards the tribe of Thaqiif, calling them to Allah, the One and the Vanquisher.


Was not what he was encountering from his clan and his folk enough? Did it not warn him of an increasing harm when it comes from people he had no blood relations with? Absolutely not, because these harmful consequences were not considered by him. Almighty Allah had commanded him to deliver the message, and that was enough. He remembered the day when the intransigence of his community increased and he went home covering himself in bed in sorrow. He heard the voice of heaven reaching his heart, and immediately he heard the voice of revelation casting the same matter as on the day of the cave: "O you encovered --- Arise and warn" (74:1-2).


Then he had to deliver the message and warn. Therefore, he was a Messenger who did not care about harm and did not search for comfort. Let him go then to Al-Taa'if to convey the word of Allah to its people.
There, however, the nobles of the community surrounded him and were more cunning than their mates in Makkah. They set children and hooligans against him, and they abandoned the most sacred of the customs of the Arabs, which is hospitality to guests and protection of the one who asks for help.


They set their hooligans and their young boys after the Messenger (PBUH), throwing stones at him. This was the one for whom the Quraish offered to collect money to make him the richest among them and to be their leader and king! Yet, he refused saying, " l am but the slave of Allah and His Messenger."


Now we behold him in At-Taa'if where he retired to an orchard to be protected by its walls from the pursuit of the hooligans. His right hand was stretched towards heaven praying to Allah while his left hand was protecting his face from the stones thrown at him. He was calling to his Creator and Lord, saying, "If You are not angry with me, I do not care for other things, but granting me Your mercy is too generous of You.!'


Indeed, he was a Messenger who knew how to address his Lord with courtesy! When he declared that he did not care about harm for the sake of Allah, he also declared that he was in dire need for mercy granted by Allah. In a situation like this, he did not feel proud about his endurance and courage, nor did he boast. Boasting in such a situation might suggest bestowing favor on Allah, and this fact could not be hidden from Muhammad. Therefore, the best way to express his courage and endurance in such a situation was his pleading and his invocation.


So he went on asking Allah's pardon and invoking Him, "O Allah, to You I complain of the weakness of my strength, my inability to find a way, and my humiliation by the people. O the Most Compassionate, You are the Lord of the weak, and You are my Lord. To whom do You entrust me? To a distant relation who ignores me or to an enemy who has power over me? If You are not angry with me, I do not care about other things, but granting me Your mercy is too generous of You. I seek refuge in the light of Your face that brightens the darkness and amends the affairs of this world and the next. Do not be angry or dissatisfied with me. I beg Your favor until You are satisfied with me. There is no strength or power except through You." What loyalty the Prophet (PBUH) had to his call! He was an unarmed person faced with plots everywhere he went. He had nothing in life to strengthen him, yet he carried all that persistence, all that steadfastness and loyalty!


People beheld him returning from Al-Taa'if to Makkah without any sense of despair or defeat, but more hopeful, optimistic, and dedicated. Moreover, he presented himself to the tribes, reaching them in their own localities and districts. One day he went to Bani Kindah, another day to Bani Haniifah, then to Bani `Aamir, and thus from one tribe to another. He said to them all, "I am the Messenger of Allah to you. He commands you to worship Allah and not to take partners with Him, and to abandon what you worship of idols." At the houses of the close-by tribes, Abu Lahab used to follow him, saying to the people, "Do not believe him, for he is calling you to what is false."


People beheld the Messenger of Allah in such a critical situation seeking believers and assistants, but he was met with ingratitude and enmity. They saw him refusing any bargains and refusing to have a worldly price for faith.


In those scorching days, he presented himself to Bani `Aamir lbn sa`sa`ah and sat with them speaking about Allah and reciting some of His words. They inquired, "Do you believe that if we supported you in your affair and then Allah raised you above those who opposed you, we would take the matter after you?" He (PBUH) answered saying, "This matter is in the hands of Allah. He puts it wherever He wishes." There and then they dispersed, saying, "We need not your affair." The Messenger (PBUH) left them, looking for believers who do not buy a little worth with their faith.
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People beheld him, but few believed in him. Despite their number, he found in them comfort and company. But the Quraish decided that each tribe should be in charge of giving lessons to the believers among them. So, suddenly, persecution descended like a mad storm and hit all the Muslims. The polytheists did not know a crime but committed it against the Muslims. However, here an unexpected surprise took place. Muhammad (PBUH) gave orders to all the Muslims to emigrate to Abyssinia and decided to remain alone to face the aggression!


Why did he not emigrate to convey the word of Allah in another place, for Allah is the Lord of All the Worlds and not the Lord of the Quraish alone? Or why did he not let them stay with him, since in their staying there was confirmed benefit? Surely their stay in Makkah, in spite of their small number, would have induced others to embrace Islam, the religion of Allah.


Furthermore, there were among them a good number of the noblest families of the Quraish, the strongest and the most powerful. From the tribe of Bani Umaiyah there were `Uthmaan lbn `Affaan, `Amr lbn Sa'iid lbn al-'Aas and Khaalid lbn Sa'iid Ibn Al-'Aas From Bani Asad there were Az-Zubair lbn Al-' Awaam, Al-Aswad lbn Nawfal, Yaziid lbn Zam'ah ,and `Amr lbn Umaiyah. From the tribe of Bani Zahrah there were `Abd Ar-Rahman lbn `Awf, `Aamir lbn Abi Waqqaas Maalik Ibn Ahyab, and Al-Muttalib Ibn Azhar. There were these and others whose families would not be patient for long with their persecution and infliction of harm upon them. Why, then, did the Messenger (PBUH) not let them stay with him to support him and to be a sign of possible power in his hands?


Here the eminence of Muhammad (PBUH), the Messenger of Allah shines. He did not want commotion or civil war, even if the probability of his success was there, or even if he was sure of his success! Here the Messenger's humanity and compassion are illustrated, for he could not bear to see people persecuted because of him, although he was well aware that sacrifice was the price paid in every noble struggle and in every great mission. Sacrifice should be made whenever it was inevitable. But now, when it is possible to avoid suffering, let the Muslims turn that way. Why, then, did he not join them?


He was not commanded to depart. His place was there where idols were. He would keep uttering the name of Allah, the One. He would keep receiving pain and harm without anxiety or disquietude since it was he who was harmed and not those weak people who believed in him and followed him and not even those noble men who also believed in him and followed him! Whoever knows examples of such cases of steadfastness and nobility of sacrifice, let him come up with them. It is a lofty matter capable only of leading messengers and chosen ones.
* * *
The man and the Messenger came together in Muhammad (PBUH) in such a magnificent and well-knit encounter. Those who had doubts in his message did not have any doubt in his eminence, the purity of his quintessence, or the purity of his humanity. Allah, Who knew where to place His Message, had chosen such a man who was the best humanity could achieve in elevation, loftiness, and honesty. People heard him reprimanding them for any exaggeration in glorifying him or even when they merely stated his eminence without any exaggeration. He prohibited them even from standing up in his presence when he came upon them when they were seated. He said, "Do not stand as non-Arabs do when they glorify one another."


When the sun eclipsed on the day of the death of his beloved son Ibraahiim, the Muslims mentioned that it was an eclipse out of sadness for the loss of Ibraahiim. But the great and honest Messenger (PBUH) hastened to refute and negate this assumption before it turned into a legend. He stood among the Muslims, addressing them as follows: "The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah. They never eclipse for the death or life of anybody."


He was the one trusted with the minds of people and their thinking, and so accomplishing what was entrusted to him was more worthy than the glory of all the world. He was certain that he came to humanity to change their way of life and that he was not a Messenger to the Quraish alone, or to the Arabs only, but was Allah's Messenger to all the people on earth!


Almighty Allah directed his vision to how far his mission would reach and his banner flutter. He perceived the truth of the faith he announced, the living immortality it would have until Allah inherits the earth and those upon it. Nevertheless, he did not see in himself, or his religion or his unprecedented success more than a brick in the construction! This great man stood to proclaim this idea in one of his best statements, saying, "The relation between prophets who came before me and myself is like a man who built a house and constructed it well and decorated it, except for a brick in one of its corners. This made people go round it and express their astonishment, saying, Won't this brick be placed? I am such a brick, and I am the last of the Prophets."


All that long life he lived, all his struggles and heroism, all his glory and purity, all the victory achieved in his life for his religion and the victory he knew would be achieved after his death were nothing but a brick, a mere brick in a lofty and deeply founded building. He was the one who proclaimed this and reiterated it. In addition, he did not make up such a speech out of assumed modesty, to nourish a hunger for glory. He emphasized the situation as a fact. Its delivery and transmission he considered part of the quintessence of his message. Though modesty was one of the essential characteristics of Muhammad (PBUH), it was not the only sign of his greatness, which reached an unrivaled level of excellence and superiority to be a sign and a symbol itself.
* * *
That was the teacher of mankind and the last of the prophets. He was the light seen by the people, and he lived among them as a human being, and then after his departure from this world, he was seen by the whole world as a truth and a memory.
Now, while we meet a number of his noble Companions on the following pages of this book where we will be astonished by their faith, their sacrifices, and the good cause they set for their lives, which was unprecedented - the reason for their marvelous lives will be clear before us.

This reason was nothing but the light they followed who was Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). Almighty Allah had combined in him the vision of truth and self-dignity, which honored life and illuminated the destiny of mankind.

(1) MUS'AB IBN `UMAIR
The First Envoy of Islam



This man among the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), how good it is for us to start with him. He was the flower of the Quraish, the most handsome and youthful! Historians and narrators describe him as "The most charming of the Makkans".


He was born and brought up in wealth, and he grew up with its luxuries. Perhaps there was no boy in Makkah who was pampered by his parents like Mus`ab lbn `Umair. This mirthful youth, caressed and pampered, the talk of the ladies of Makkah, the jewel of its clubs and assemblies: is it possible for him to be one of the legends of faith?


By Allah, how interesting a tale, the story of Mus`ab Ibn `Umair or Mus`ab the Good, as he was nicknamed among the Muslims! He was one of those made by Islam and fostered by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).


But who was he? His story is a pride of all mankind. The youth heard one day what the people of Makkah had begun to hear about Muhammad the Truthful, that Allah had sent him as bearer of glad tidings and a warner to call them to the worship of Allah the One God. When Makkah slept and awoke there was no other talk but the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his religion, and this spoiled boy was one of the most attentive listeners.


That was because, although he was young, the flower of clubs and assemblies, the outward appearance of wisdom and common sense were among the traits of Mus`ab.


He heard that the Prophet (PBUH) and those who believed in him were meeting far away from the dignitaries and great men of the Quraish at As-safaa in the house of Al-Arqam lbn Al-Arqam daar Al-Arqam. He wasted no time. He went one night to the Daar Al Arqam, yearning and anxious. There, the Prophet (PBUH) was meeting his Companions, reciting the Qur'aan to them and praying with them to Allah the Most Exalted. Mus`ab had hardly taken his seat and contemplated the verses of Qur'aan recited by the Prophet (PBUH) when his heart became the promised heart that night.


The pleasure almost flung him from his seat as he was filled with a wild ecstasy. But the Prophet (PBUH) patted his throbbing heart with his blessed right hand, and the silence of the ocean's depth filled his heart. In the twinkling of an eye, the youth who had just become Muslim appeared to have more wisdom than his age and a determination that would change the course of time!
* * *
Mus`ab's mother was Khunaas Bint Maalik, and people feared her almost to the point of terror because she possessed a strong personality. When Mus`ab became a Muslim, he was neither careful before nor afraid of anyone on the face of the earth except his mother. Even if Makkah, with all its idols, nobles, and deserts were to challenge him, he would stand up to it. As for a dispute with his mother, this was an impossible horror, so he thought quickly and decided to keep his Islam secret until Allah willed. He continued to frequent Daar Al-Arqam and take lessons from the Prophet (PBUH). He was satisfied with his faith and avoided the anger of his mother, who had no knowledge of his embracing Islam.


However, Makkah at that time kept no secret, for the eyes and ears of the Quraish were everywhere, very alert and checking every footprint in its hot sands. Once, `Uthmaan Ibn Taihah saw him steadily entering alarm's house, then he saw him a second time praying the prayer like Muhammad. No sooner had he seen him than he ran quickly with the news to Mus`ab's mother, who was astonished by it.


Mus`ab stood before his mother, the people, and the nobles of Makkah who assembled around him, telling them the irrefutable truth and reciting the Qur'aan with which the Prophet (PBUH) cleansed their hearts and filled them with honor, wisdom, justice, and piety. His mother aimed a heavy blow at him, but the hand which was meant as an arrow soon succumbed to the powerful light which increased the radiance of his face with innocent glory because it demanded respect with its quiet confidence. However, his mother, under the pressure of her motherliness, spared him the beating and the pain, although it was within her power to avenge her gods whom he had abandoned. Instead she took him to a rough corner of her house and shut him in it. She put shackles on him and imprisoned him there until he heard the news of the emigration (hijab) of some of the believers to Abyssinia. He thought to himself and was able to delude his mother and his guards, and so escaped to Abyssinia.


There he stayed in Abyssinia with his fellow emigrants and then returned with them to Makkah. He also emigrated to Abyssinia for the second time with the Companions whom the Prophet (PBUH) advised to emigrate and they obeyed. But whether Mus`ab was in Abyssinia or Makkah, the experience of his faith proclaimed itself in all places and at all times.


Musa became confident that his life had become good enough to be offered as a sacrifice to the Supreme Originator and great Creator. He went out one day to some Muslims while they were sitting around the Prophet (PBUH) , and no sooner did they see him than they lowered their heads and shed some tears because they saw him wearing worn out garments. They were accustomed to his former appearance before he had become a Muslim, when his clothes had been like garden flowers, elegant and fragrant.


The Prophet (PBUH) saw him with the eyes of wisdom, thankful and loving, and his lips smiled gracefully as he said, "I saw Mus`ab here, and there was no youth in Makkah more petted by his parents than he. Then he abandoned all that for the love of Allah and His Prophet!"


His mother had withheld from him all the luxury he had been overwhelmed by, when she could not return him to her religion. She refused to let anyone who had abandoned their gods eat of her food, even if he was her son. Her last connection with him was when she tried to imprison him for a second time after his return from Abyssinia, and he swore that if she did that, he would kill all those who came to her aid to lock him up. She knew the truth of his determination when he was intent and decided to do something, and so she bade him good bye weeping.


The parting moment revealed a strange adherence to infidelity on the part of his mother, and the greater adherence to faith on the part of her son. When she said to him, while turning him out of her house, "Go away, I am no longer your mother," he went close to her and said, "O mother, I am advising you and my heart is with you, please bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger." She replied to him, angrily raging, "By the stars, I will never enter your religion, to degrade my status and weaken my senses!"


So Mus`ab left the great luxury in which he had been living. He became satisfied with a hard life he had never seen before, wearing the roughest clothes, eating one day and going hungry another. This spirit, which was grounded in the strongest faith, adorned with the light of Allah, made him another man, one who appeals to the eyes of other great souls.


While he was in this state, the Prophet (PBUH) commissioned him with the greatest mission of his life, which was to be his envoy to Al-Madiinah. His mission was to instruct the Ansaar who believed in the Prophet (PBUH) and had pledged their allegiance to him at `Aqabah, to call others to Islam, and to prepare Al-Madiinah for the day of the great Hijrah. There were among the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) at that time others who were older than Mus`ab and more prominent and nearer to the Prophet (PBUH) by family relations. But the Prophet (PBUH) chose Mus`ab the Good, knowing that he was entrusting to him the most important task of that time, putting into his hands the destiny of Islam at Al-Madiinah. The radiant city of Al-Madiinah was destined to be the home of Hijrah, the springboard of Islamic preachers and the liberators of the future. Mus`ab was equal to the task and trust which Allah had given him and he was equipped with an excellent mind and noble character. He won the hearts of the Madinites with his piety, uprightness and sincerity. And so they embraced the religion of Allah in flocks. At the time the Prophet (PBUH) sent him there, only twelve Muslims had pledged allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH) at the Pledge of `Aqabah. He had hardly completed a few months when they answered to the call of Allah and the Prophet (PBUH). During the next pilgrimage season, the Madinite Muslims sent a delegation of 70 believing men and women to Makkah to meet the Prophet (PBUH).


They came with their teacher and their Prophet's envoy, Mus`ab Ibn `Umair. Mus`ab had proven, by his good sense and excellence, that the Prophet (PBUH) knew well how to choose his envoys and teachers.


Mus'ab had understood his mission well. He knew that he was a caller to Allah and preacher of His religion, which calls people to right guidance and the straight path. Like the Prophet (PBUH) in whom he believed, he was no more than a deliverer of the message. There he stood fast, with As`ad Ibn Zoraarah as host, and both of them used to visit the tribes, dwellings, and assemblies, reciting to the people what he had of the Book of Allah, instilling in them that Allah is no more than One God.


He had confronted certain instances which could have put an end to his life and that of those with him but for his active, intelligent, great mind. One day, he was taken by surprise while preaching to the people to find Usaid lbn hudair, leader of the `Abd Al-Ashhal tribe, at Al-Madiinah confronting him with a drawn arrow.


He was raging with anger and animosity against the one who had come to corrupt the religion of his people by telling them to abandon their gods and talking to them about the idea of only One God Whom they did not know before and had never heard of. Their gods were to them the center of their worship. Whenever any of them needed them, he knew their places. They would invoke them for help. That was how they thought and imagined!


As for the God of Muhammad, to whom this envoy was calling, nobody knew His place, nor could anybody see Him! When the Muslims who were sitting around Mus`ab, saw Usaid lbn hudair advancing in his unbridled anger, they were frightened, but Mus`ab the Good stood firm. Usaid stood before him and As`ad lbn Zoraarah shouting, "What brought you here? Are you coming to corrupt our faith? Go away if you wish to be saved!"


And like the calmness of the sea and its force, Mus`ab started his fine speech saying, "Won't you sit down and listen? If you like our cause, you can accept; and if you dislike it, we will spare you of what you hate."
Allah is the Greatest! How grand an opening whose ending would be pleasant! Usaid was a thoughtful and clever man, and here he saw Mus`ab inviting him to listen and no more. If he was convinced he would accept it, and if he was not convinced, then Mus`ab would leave his neighborhood and his clan, and move to another neighborhood without harm, nor being harmed. There and then Usaid answered him saying, "Well, that is fair," and he dropped his arrow to the ground and sat down listening.


Mus`ab had hardly read the Qur'aan, explaining the mission with which Muhammad lbn `Abd Allah (PBUH) came, when the conscience of Usaid began to dear and brighten and change with the effectiveness of the words. He became overwhelmed by its beauty. When Mus`ab finished speaking, Usaid lbn Hudair exclaimed to him and those with him, "How beautiful is this speech, and how true! How can one enter this religion?" Mus`ab told him to purify his body and clothes and say, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah." Usaid retired for some time and then returned pouring clean water on his head and standing there proclaiming, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."


The news spread like lightning and then Sa`d Ibn Mu`aadh came and listened to Mus`ab, and he was convinced and embraced Islam. Then came Sa`d lbn `Ubaadah.


There and then blessings came with their entering Islam. The people of Al-Madiinah came together asking one another, "If Usaid lbn Hudair, Sa`d Ibn Mu`aadh and Sa`d Ibn `Ubaadah have embraced Islam, what are we waiting for? Go straight to Mus`ab and believe. By Allah, he is calling us to the truth and the straight path!"


The first envoy of the Prophet (PBUH) succeeded without comparison. It was a success which he deserved and to which he was equal.


* * *


The days and years passed by. The Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions emigrated to Al-Madiinah, and the Quraish were raging with envy and their ungodly pursuit after the pious worshippers. So the Battle of Badr took place, in which they were taught a lesson and lost their strong hold. After that they prepared themselves for revenge, and thus came the Battle of Uhud. The Muslims mobilized themselves, and the Prophet (PBUH) stood in their midst to sort out among their faithful faces and to choose one to bear the standard. He then called for Mus`ab the Good, and he advanced and carried the standard.


The terrible battle was raging, the fighting furious. The archers disregarded the orders of the Prophet (PBUH) by leaving their positions on the mountain when they saw the polytheists withdrawing as if defeated. But this act of theirs soon turned the victory of the Muslims to defeat. The Muslims were taken at unawares by the cavalry of the Quraish at the mountain top, and many Muslims were killed by the swords of the polytheists as a consequence.


When they saw the confusion and horror splitting the ranks of the Muslims, the polytheists concentrated on the Prophet of Allah to finish him off. Mus`ab saw the impending threat, so he raised the standard high, shouting, "allahu Akbar! Allah is the Greatest!" like the roar of a lion. He turned and jumped left and right, fighting and killing the foe. All he wanted was to draw the attention of the enemy to himself in order to turn their attention away from the Prophet (PBUH). He thus became as a whole army in himself. Nay, Mus`ab went alone to fight as if he were an army of giants raising the standard in sanctity with one hand, striking with his sword with the other. But the enemies were multiplying on him. They wanted to step on his corpse so that they could find the Prophet (PBUH).


Let us allow a living witness to describe for us the last scene of Mus`ab the Great. Ibn Sa`d said: Ibraahiim lbn Muhammad lbn Sharhabiil Al-'Abdriy related from his father, who said: Mus`ab lbn `Umair carried the standard on the Day of Uhud. When the Muslims were scattered, he stood fast until he met lbn Qumaah who was a knight. He struck him on his right hand and cut it off, but Mus`ab said, "and Muhammad is but a Messenger. Messengers have passed away before him " (3:144). He carried the standard with his left hand and leaned on it. He struck his left hand and cut it off, and so he leaned on the standard and held it with his upper arms to his chest, all the while saying, "And Muhammad is but a Messenger. Messengers have passed away before him". Then a third one struck him with his spear, and the spear went through him. Mus`ab fell and then the standard.


Nay, the cream of martyrdom had fallen! He fell after he had struggled for the sake of Allah in the great battle of sacrifice and faith. He had thought that if he fell, he would be a stepping stone to the death of the Prophet (PBUH) because he would be without defense and protection. But he put himself in harm's way for the sake of the Prophet (PBUH). overpowered by his fear for and love of him, he continued to say with every sword stroke that fell on him from the foe, "and Muhammad is but a Messenger. Messengers have passed away before him "(3:144). This verse was revealed later, after he had spoken it.



* * *


After the bitter battle, they found the corpse of the upright martyr lying with his face in the dust, as if he feared to look while harm fell on the Prophet (PBUH). So he hid his face so that he would avoid the scene. Or perhaps, he was shy when he fell as a martyr, before making sure of the safety of the Prophet of Allah, and before serving to the very end, guarding and protecting him.


Allah is with you, O Mus`ab! What a great life story!


* * *


The Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions came to inspect the scene of the battle and bid farewell to its martyrs. Pausing at Mus`ab's body, tears dripped from the Prophet's eyes. Khabbaab lbn Al-Arat narrated: We emigrated with the Prophet (PBUH) for Allah's cause, so our reward became due with Allah. Some of us passed away without enjoying anything in this life of his reward, and one of them was Mus`ab Ibn`Umair, who was martyred on the Day of Uhud. He did not leave behind anything except a sheet of shredded woolen cloth. If we covered his head with it, his feet were uncovered, and if we covered his feet with it, his head was uncovered. The Prophet (PBUH) said to us, "Cover his head with it and put lemon grass over his feet."


Despite the deep, sad pain which the Prophet (PBUH) suffered over the loss of his uncle Hamzah and the mutilation of his corpse by the polytheists in a manner that drew tears from the Prophet (PBUH) and broke his heart; despite the fact that the field of battle was littered with the corpses of his Companions, all of whom represented the peak of truth, piety and enlightenment; despite all this, he stood at the corpse of his first envoy, bidding him farewell and weeping bitterly. Nay, the Prophet (PBUH) stood at the remains of Mus`ab lbn `Umair saying, while his eyes were flowing with tears, love and loyalty, "Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah " (33:23).

Then he gave a sad look at the garment in which he was shrouded and said, "I saw you at Makkah, and there was not a more precious jewel, nor more distinguished one than you, and here you are bare-headed in a garment!" Then the Prophet (PBUH) looked at all the martyrs in the battlefield and said, "The Prophet of Allah witnesses that you are martyrs to Allah on the Day of Resurrection." Then he gathered his living Companions around him and said, "O people, visit them, come to them, and salute them. By Allah, no Muslim will salute them but that they will salute him in return."

* * * Peace be on you, O Mus`ab. Peace be on you, O Martyrs. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you!

(2)

SALMAAN AL-FAARISIY
The Seeker after Truth

From Persia comes our hero this time, and from Persia many came to embrace Islam in the long run, and it made some of them extraordinary, unsurpassable in faith and knowledge in religion and worldly affairs.


It is one of the wonders of Islam and its greatness that it never enters a country on Allah's earth but that it exerts invaluable influence on all its potentialities and forces, bringing forth the latent genius of its people and followers. From there came forth Muslim philosophers, physicians, jurists, astronomers, inventors, and mathematicians.
Behold, they reached all heights, broke all frontiers, until the first era of Islam flourished with great geniuses in all fields of intellectual activity such as administration and science. Verily, they came from various nations, but their religion remained one.


The Prophet (PBUH) had prophesied this blessed spread of his religion. Indeed, he had been so promised by his Almighty Lord. He had pointed to the time, place, and day, and he had seen in his mind's eye the banner of Islam fluttering in all comers of the earth and over the palaces of its earthly rulers.


Salmaan Al-Faarisiy (The Persian) bore witness to this and was firmly connected with what happened. That was on the Day of Al Khandaq (The Trench) in the year A.H. 5, when the leaders of the Jews approached Makkah to stir up the polytheists and form an alliance against the Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims, asking the polytheists to enter upon a treaty for decisive battle to eradicate this new religion.


The ungodly war was planned: the Quraish army and allies would attack Al-Madiinah from outside, while the Bani Ouraidhah would attack from within, behind the ranks of the Muslims, who would then fall prey and be crushed. One day the Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims were taken unaware by a huge well-armed army marching on Al-Madiinah. The Qur'aan depicts the scene thus: "When they came against you from above you and from below you and your eyes turned away and your hearts reached to your throats, and you imagined vain thoughts about GOD; in that place the believers were tried and shaken most severely" (33:10-11).


Twenty-four thousand fighters under the command of Abu Sufyaan and `Uyainah lbn Hisn were advancing on Al-Madiinah to storm it and to lay siege to it in order to get rid of Muhammad, his religion, and his Companions. This army did not represent the Quraish alone, for they were in alliance with all the tribes, and all had vested interests that were threatened by Islam. It was a last and decisive attempt embarked on by all the enemies of the Prophet (PBUH), based upon individual, collective, and tribal interests.


The Muslims found themselves in a precarious situation. The Prophet (PBUH) assembled his Companions for consultation. Certainly they were gathered to reach a decision on defense and battle, but how could they put up a defense? And then a long - legged man with flowing hair for whom the Prophet (PBUH) bore great love, Salmaan Al-Faarisiy, held up his head and took a look at Al Madiinah, which was surrounded by hills, mountains, and exposed open country which could be easily broken through by the enemy.


Salmaan had much experience, in warfare and its tactics in his native Persia. So he proposed to the Prophet (PBUH) something which the Arabs had never seen before in warfare. It was the digging of a trench in the exposed places around Al- Madiinah.


And Allah knows what could have been the position of the Muslims in that battle had they not dug the trench, which was no sooner seen by the Quraish than they were stunned by despair. The forces of the enemy still remained in their tents for a month, unable to take Al-Madiinah, until Allah sent them one night a storm which devastated their tents and tore them asunder.


Then Abu Sufyaan announced to his forces that they should return to where they had come from. They were despondent and frustrated.
* * *
During the excavation of the trench, Salmaan took his place among the Muslims while they dug and removed the sand. The Prophet (PBUH) was also taking part in digging where Salmaan was working in a group. Their pickaxes could not smash a stubborn rock, in spite of the fact that Salmaan was of strong build and hard working. A single stroke of his would break a rock to pieces, but he stood in front of this stubborn one. He let all those around him try to break it, but in vain. Salmaan went to the Prophet (PBUH) to ask him to divert the trench around that stubborn and challenging rock. The Prophet (PBUH) returned with Salmaan to see the rock himself. When he saw it, he called for a pickax and asked the Companions to keep back from the splinters. He said, "In the name of Allah," and then raised his blessed, firm hands gripping the pickax and let it fall.


The rock broke, making a great light. Salmaan said that he himself saw that light shining upon Al-Madiinah. The Prophet (PBUH) raised the pickax and gave a second blow and the rock broke more. At that moment the Prophet (PBUH) said loudly, "Allahu akbar - Allah is the Greatest - I have been given the keys to Rome; its red palaces have been lit for me and my nation has vanquished it."


The Prophet (PBUH) struck his third blow. Then the rock shattered and its glittering light was seen! The Prophet (PBUH) told them that he was now looking at the palaces of Syria, San'aa' and others like them, and the cities of the world over which the banner of Islam would flutter one day. The Muslims shouted in deep faith, "This is what Allah and His Prophet have promised us!"


Salmaan was the originator of the project to dig the trench, and he was associated with the rock out of which poured some secrets of the unseen and of destiny. When he called the Prophet (PBUH) to break it, he stood by the side of the Prophet (PBUH), saw the light, and heard the glad omen, and he lived to see the prophecy fulfilled and abided in its living reality. He saw the great capitals of Persia and Rome (Byzantium), the palaces of San'aa', Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. He saw every place trembling with the blessed ecstasy which was issuing forth from the high minarets in all parts of the world, spreading the light of guidance and goodness.


And here he is sitting there in the shade of a tree before his house in Al-Madiinah telling his guests about his great adventures in the quest for truth, explaining to them how he abandoned the religion of his Persian people for Christianity and then for Islam. How he abandoned his father's wealth and estate and threw himself into the arms of the wilderness in the quest for the release of his tension and soul. How he was sold in a slave market on his way to search for truth. How he met with the Prophet (PBUH) and how he came to believe in him. Now let us approach his great court and listen to his grand tale which he is recounting.
* * *
I come from Isfahan, from a place called Jai, and I was the most beloved son of my father, who was a figure of high esteem among his people. We used to worship fire. I devoted myself to fire worship until I became custodian of the fire which we lit and never allowed to be extinguished.


My father had an estate. One day, he sent me there. I passed by a Christian church and heard them praying. I went in and saw what they were doing. I was impressed by what I saw in their prayers. I said, "This is better than our religion." I did not leave them until sunset, nor did I go to my father's estate, nor did I return to my father until he sent people to search for me.


I asked the Christians about their affair and prayers which impressed me, and about the origin of their religion. They answered, "In Syria." I said to my father when I returned to him, "I passed by people praying in a church of theirs, and I was impressed by their prayer, and I could see that their religion is better than ours." He questioned me and I questioned him, and then he put fetters on my feet and locked me up.
Then I sent to the Christians saying I had entered their religion, and I requested that whenever a caravan came from Syria, they should tell me before its return in order for me to travel with them, and so they did.


I broke loose from the iron fetters and went away. I set out with them for Syria. While I was there, I asked about their learned man, and I was told that he was the bishop, leader of the church. I went to him and told him my story. I lived with him, serving, praying, and learning.
But this bishop was not faithful in his religion, because he used to gather money from the people to distribute it, but he would keep it for himself. Then he died.


They appointed a new leader in his place. I have never seen a man more godly than he in his religion, nor more active in his bid for the Hereafter, nor more pious in the world, nor more punctual at worship. I loved him more than I had ever loved any other person before.


When his fate came, I asked him, "To whom would you recommend me? And to whom would you leave me?" He said, "O my son, I do not know anyone who is on the path I am and who leads the kind of life I lead, except a certain man in Mosul."


When he died, I went to that man in Mosul, and told him the story, and I stayed with him as long as Allah wished me to stay. Then death approached him. So I asked him, "To whom would you advise me to go to?" He directed me to a pious man in Nisiibiin." So I went to him and told him my story. I stayed with him as long as Allah wished me to stay. When death overtook him, I asked him as before. He told me to meet a person at `Amuriah in Byzantium. So, to Byzantium I went and stayed with that man, earning my living there by rearing cattle and sheep.


Then death approached him, and I asked him, "To whom should I go?" He said, "O my son, I know no one anywhere who is on the path we have been on so that I can tell you to go to him. But you have been overtaken by an epoch in which there will appear a prophet in the pure creed of lbraahiim (Abraham). He will migrate to the place of palm trees. If you can be sincere to him, then do so. He has signs which will be manifested: he does not eat of charity, yet he accepts gifts, and between his shoulders is the seal of prophethood. When you see him, you will know him."


A caravan passed by me on that day. I asked them where they had come from and learned that they were from the Arabian Peninsula. So I told them, "I give you these cattle and sheep of mine in return for your taking me to your land." They agreed. So they took me in their company until they brought me to Wadi Al-Quraa and there they wronged to me. They sold me to a Jew. I saw many palm trees and cherished the hope that it was the land that had been described to me and which would be the future place of the advent of the prophet, but it was not.


I stayed with this Jew who bought me until another from Bani Quraidhah came to him one day and bought me from him. I stayed with him until we came to Al -Madiinah. By Allah, I had hardly seen it when I knew that it was the land described to me.


I stayed with the Jew, working for him on his plantation in Bani Quraidhah until Allah sent His Prophet, who later emigrated to Al-Madiinah and dismounted at Qubaa' among the Bani `Amr lbn `Awf. Indeed, one day, I was at the top of a palm tree with my master sitting below it when a Jewish man came. He was a cousin of his and said to him, "May Allah destroy Bani Qubaa'. They are spreading a rumor about a man at Qubaa' who came from Makkah claiming that he is a prophet." By Allah, he had hardly said it, when I was seized by a tremor, and the palm tree shook until I almost fell on my master.


I climbed down quickly saying, "What are you saying? What news?" My master gave me a nasty slap and said, `What have you got to do with this? Return to your work!"


So, I returned to work. At nightfall I gathered what I had and went out until I came to the Prophet (PBUH) at Qubaa'. I entered and found him sitting with some of his Companions. Then I said, "You are in need and a stranger. I have some food which I intend to give out as charity. When they showed me your lodgings, I thought you most deserve it, so I have come to you with it." I put the food down. The Prophet (PBUH) said to his Companions, "Eat in the name of Allah." He abstained and never took of it. I said to myself, "This, by Allah, is one sign. He does not eat of charity!"


I returned to meet the Prophet (PBUH) again the next day, carrying some food, and said to him (PBUH), "I can see that you do not partake of charity. I have something which I want to give to you as a present." I placed it before him. He said to his Companions "Eat in the name of Allah" and he ate with them. So I said to myself, "This indeed is the second sign. He eats of presents." I returned and stayed away for a while. Then I came to him, and I saw him sitting, having returned from a burial, and surrounded by his Companions. He had two garments, carrying one on his shoulder and wearing the other. I greeted him, then bent to see the upper part of his back. He knew what I was looking for, so he threw aside his garment off his shoulder and, behold, the sign between his shoulders, the seal of Prophethood, was clear just as the Christian monk had described."


At once, I staggered towards him, kissing him and weeping. He called to me to come forward and I sat before him. I told him my story as you have already heard me describe the events.


When I became a Muslim, slavery prevented me from taking part in the battles of Badr and Uhud. Therefore the Prophet (PBUH) advised me, "Go into terms with your master for him to free you," and so I did. The Prophet (PBUH) told the Companions to assist me, and Allah freed me from bondage. I became a free Muslim, taking part with the Prophet (PBUH) in the Battle of Al-khandaq and others. With these simple clear words, Salmaan spoke of his great, noble, and sacrificial adventure for the sake of Allah, seeking after the reality of religion that led him to Allah and helped him to find his role in this life.


What kind of a noble person was this man? What great superiority was achieved by his aspiring spirit, that restless spirit that withstood difficulties and defeated them, confronted the impossible and it gave way! What devotion to the truth, and what sincerity that led its owner voluntarily away from the estate of his father, with all its wealth and luxury, to the wilderness, with all its difficulties and suffering. He moved from land to land, town to town, seeking acquaintances, persevering, worshiping and searching for his destiny among people, sects, and different ways of life. And adhering all the way to the truth with all its noble sacrifices, for the sake of guidance until he was sold into slavery. He was then rewarded by Allah the best of rewards, making him reach the truth and come into the presence of His Prophet. And then He granted him longevity, enough for him to see the banner of Islam fluttering in all parts of the world and His Muslim worshippers filling its space and corners with guidance, progress and justice!


What do you expect of the Islam of a man with such a noble character but to be a man of such truth! It was an Islam of the God- fearing and innocent. In his devotion he was intelligent, pious, and the person nearest to `Umar Ibn Al-khattaab.


He once stayed with Abu Ad-Dardaa', under the same roof. Abu Ad-Dardaa' used to pray all night and fast all day. Salmaan blamed him for this excessive worship. One day, Salmaan wanted to stop him from fasting and to say it was supererogatory. Abu Ad-Dardaa' asked him, "Would you prevent me from fasting for my Lord and from praying to Him?" Salmaan replied, "No, your eyes have a claim upon you, your family has a claim upon you, so fast intermittently, then pray and sleep."


This reached the Prophet (PBUH) who said, "Salmaan is, indeed, full of knowledge." The Prophet (PBUH) was often impressed by his wisdom and knowledge, just as he was impressed by his character and religion. On the Day of Al-khandaq the Ansar stood up and said, "Salmaan is of us," the Muhaajiruun stood up also and said, "Salmaan is of us." The Prophet called to them saying, "Salmaan is of us, O People of the House (Prophet's house)."


Indeed, he deserved this honor! `Aliy lbn Abi Taalib , (May Allah honor his face) nicknamed him "Luqmaan the Wise ". He was asked about after his death: "There was a man who was of the People of the House. Who among you is like Luqmaan the Wise? He was a man of knowledge who absorbed all the scriptures of the People of the Book. He was like a sea that was never exhausted!"


He was held in the minds of Prophet's Companions with all highest regards and in the greatest position and respect. During the Caliphate of `Umar, he came to Al-Madiinah on a visit and `Umar accorded him what he had never accorded to anyone before when he assembled his Companions and said, "Come, let us go out and welcome Salmaan!" They received him at the border of Al-Madiinah. Salmaan had lived with the Prophet (PBUH) ever since he met him, and believed in him as a free Muslim, and worshiped with him. He lived during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthmaan, in whose era he met his Lord. In most of these years, the banner of Islam spread everywhere, and the treasures of Islam were carried to Al Madiinah in floods and distributed to the people in the form of regular allowance and fixed salaries. The responsibilities of ruling increased on all fronts, as well as duties and the overwhelming burden of holding official posts. So where did Salmaan stand in this respect? Where do we see him in the time of splendor, plenty, and enjoyment?
* * *
Open wide your eyes. Do you see that humble man sitting there in the shade making baskets and utensils out of palm fronds?
That is Salmaan. Take a good look at him. Look at his short garment, which is so short that it is only down to his knees. That was him in grand old age. His grant was 4,000 to 6,000 dirhams a year, but he distributed all of it, refusing to take a dirham of it, and he used to say, "I would buy palm fronds with one dirham to work on and then sell it for three dirhams. I retained one dirham of it as capital, spent one dirham on my family, and gave away one dirham, and if `Umar lbn Al-Khattaab prevented me from that, I would not stop."
* * *
What next, O followers of Muhammad? What next, O noblest of mankind in all ages? Some of us used to think, whenever we heard the conduct of the Companions and their piety - for example, Abu Bakr, `Umar, Abu Dhar and their brethren - that it was based on the life of the Arabian Peninsula, where the Arabs find pleasure in simplicity. And here we are before a man from Persia, the land of pleasure, luxury, and civilization, and he was not of the poor but of its upper class. What about him now refusing property, wealth, and enjoyment, and insisting that he live on one dirham a day from the work of his hands? How about his refusing leadership and position except for something relating to jihaad and only if none but he were suitable for it, and it was forced upon him, and he accepted it weeping and shy? How about when he accepted leadership which was forced upon him but he refused to take his lawful dues? Hishaam lbn Hasaan relates from Al-Hassan: The allowance of Salmaan was 5,000. He lived among 30,000 people and used to dress in a garment cut into halves. He wore one and sat on the other half. Whenever his allowance was due him, he distributed it to the needy and lived on the earnings of his hands!


Why do you think he was doing all this work and worshiping with all this devotion, and yet he was a Persian child of luxury, the upbringing of civilization? You can hear the reply from him. While he was on his deathbed, the great spirit mounting forth to meet his Lord, Exalted and Merciful, Sa`d lbn Abi Waqaas went to greet him, and Salmaan wept! Sa'd said, "What makes you weep, O Abu `Abd Allah? The Prophet of Allah died pleased with you!" Salmaan replied, "By Allah, I am not weeping in fear of death, nor for love of the world. But the Prophet of Allah put me on an oath. He said, `Let any of you have in this world like the provision of the traveler,' and here I have owned many things around me." Sa'd said: I looked around, and I saw nothing but a water-pot and vessel to eat in! Then I said to him, "O Abu Abd Allah, give us a parting word of advice for us to follow." He said, O Sa'd, remember Allah for your cares, if you have any. Remember Allah in your judgment, if you judge. Remember Allah when you distribute the share." This was the man who filled his spirit with riches just as it filled him with renunciation of the pleasures of this world, its riches, and pride. The oath which he and the rest of the Companions had taken before the Prophet of Allah was that they must not let the world possess them and that they should take nothing from it but the provision of the traveler in his bag.


Salmaan had kept the oath, yet still his tears ran when he saw his soul preparing for departure, fearing that he had gone beyond the limits. There was nothing around him except a vessel to eat in and a water-pot and yet still he considered himself lavish! Did I not tell you that he was the nearest in resemblance to `Umar? During the days of his rule over the Madiinah area, he never changed his way. He had refused, as we have seen, to receive his salary as a ruler, but went on making baskets to earn his living. His dress was no more than a gown, resembling his old clothes in simplicity.


One day while on the road, he met a man arriving from Syria, carrying a load of figs and dates. The load was too heavy for him and made him weary. No sooner did the Syrian see the man in front of him, who appeared to be one of the common people and poor than he thought of putting the load on his shoulders and when he reached his destination he would give him something for his labor. So he beckoned to the man (Salmaan, the governor), and he came up to him.


The Syrian said to him, "Relieve me of this load." He carried it, and they walked together.


While on their way, they met a group of people. He greeted them and they stood up in obeisance, replying, "And unto the governor be peace!" "Who is the governor?" The Syrian asked himself. His surprise increased when he saw some of them rushing towards Salmaan to take the load off his shoulders. "Let us carry it, O governor". When the Syrian knew that he was the governor of Al Madiinah, he was astonished. Words of apology and regret fell from his lips, and he went forward to grab the load. But Salmaan shook his head in refusal, saying, "No, not until I take you to your destination."
* * *
He was asked one day, "What troubles you in the leadership?" He replied, "The pleasure of nurturing it and the bitterness of meaning!"
A friend of his came to him one day at his house and found him kneading dough. He asked him, "Where is your servant? "He replied, We have sent her on an errand and we hate to charge her with two duties."


When we say "his house" let us remember what kind of house it was. When Salmaan thought of building it, he asked the mason, "How are you going to build it?" The mason was courteous and yet witty. He knew the piety and devotion of Salmaan, so he replied to him saying "Fear not. It is a house for you to protect yourself against the heat of the sun and dwell in the cold weather. When you stand erect in it, it touches your head." Salmaan said to him, "Yes, that is it, so go on and build it."


There was nothing of the goods of this world which could attract Salmaan for a moment, nor did they leave any traces in his heart except one thing, which he was particularly mindful of and had entrusted to his wife, requesting her to keep it far away in a safe place. In his last sickness, and in the morning on which he gave up his soul, he called her, "Bring me the trust which I left in safe keeping!" She brought it and behold, it was a bottle of musk. He had gained it on the day of liberating the city of Jalwalaa' and kept it to be his perfume on the day of his death. Then he called for a pot of water, sprinkled the musk into it, stirred it with his hand and then said to his wife, "Sprinkle it on me, for there will now come to me creatures from the creatures of Allah. They do not eat food and what they like is perfume."


Having done so he said to her, "Shut the door and go down." She did what he bade her to do. After a while she went up to him and saw his blessed soul had departed his body his frame. It was gone to the Supreme Master, and it ascended with the desire to meet Him as he had an appointment there with the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his two Companions Abu Bakr and `Umar and the noble circle of martyrs!
* * *
Long had the burning desire stirred Salmaan. The time had come for him to rest in peace.

(3)
ABU DHAR AL-GHIFAARIY

The Leader of Opposition and an Enemy of Wealth




Cheerfully and happily did he turn toward Makkah. Indeed, the difficulty of his journey and the hard, burning desert sand made him suffer pain. However, the goal he was striving to reach made him forget his pain and filled his soul with joy and delight.

He entered Makkah disguised as one of those who came to circumambulate the great idols of the Sacred House of the Ka'bah or as a passer-by who had lost his way or who had traveled far and sought provision and shelter.

If the inhabitants of Makkah knew that he had come to search for Muhammad (PBUH) and to listen to him, they would cut him into pieces. He did not fear being cut up piece by piece, but not before meeting the person he had crossed the hot burning deserts to see and for whose sake afterwards he was willing to risk his life because he believed in him and was convinced of his honesty and the truth of his message.

He went about secretly gathering information and whenever he heard someone speaking about Muhammad (PBUH), he carefully approached him until he was finally able to compile all the scattered pieces of information which he had heard here and there. Finally, he was guided to the place where he was able to see Muhammad (PBUH).

One morning he went there and found the Prophet (PBUH) sitting alone. He approached him and said, "O my Arab brother, good morning." Thereupon the Prophet replied, "And may peace be upon you, my brother." Abu Dhar then said, "Sing to me some of what you are saying." The Prophet (PBUH) answered, "It isn't a poem to be sung, but a Holy Qur'aan." Abu Dhar said, "Then recite for me."

The Prophet (PBUH) recited to him while he listened. It was not long until Abu Dhar shouted, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Prophet (PBUH) and Messenger." The Prophet (PBUH) asked him, "Where are you from, my Arab brother?" Abu Dhar answered, "From Ghifaar." A broad smile appeared on the Prophet's lips (PBUH) and his face was filled with wonder and astonishment.

However, Abu Dhar was also smiling, for he knew well that the reason behind the Prophet's astonishment was because the man who had just embraced Islam in front of him was from Ghifaar. Ghifaar was a tribe with a notorious reputation for highway robbery. Its people were famous for theft and were known as allies of darkness and night. Woe to him who fell into their hinds on a dark night!

Was it possible that one of them would embrace Islam while it was still a new, secret religion?

Narrating the story himself, Abu Dhar said: The Prophet (PBUH) lifted his eyes out of astonishment, due to Ghifaar's reputation. Then he said, "Allah guides whom He wills." Indeed, Allah guides whom He wills.

Abu Dhar (May Allah be pleased with him) was one of those whom Allah wanted to be rightly guided and for whom He wanted the best. His insight was always directed towards truth.

It has been narrated that he worshiped Allah during the period of Jaahiliyah, which means that he revolted against the worship of idols and turned towards the belief in One Great Creator.

Therefore, he had hardly heard about the appearance of a prophet rejecting idols and their worship and calling to the worship of Allah, the One, the Sublime, the Vanquisher, when he immediately set out and quickened his steps to meet this new Messenger of Allah (PBUH).

Immediately, without hesitation, he embraced Islam. His order among the converts was fifth or sixth, which means that he converted during the first days, if not the first hours, of Islam. His conversion was indeed very early.

When he embraced Islam the Prophet (PBUH) was till secretly whispering the call to Islam to himself and to the five who believed in him. Abu Dhar could not do anything except carry his faith within his heart, secretly leaving Makkah and returning to his people.

However, Abu Dhar - his real name was Jundub lbn Janaadah - had a restless and agitated temper. He had been created to revolt against falsehood wherever it existed. Now he saw falsehood with his own eyes as lifeless rocks piled upon each other. The birth of their worship was long before his existence: minds and foreheads bowed down in front of them and people calling to them saying, "At your service, at your service!"

It is true that he saw the Prophet's preference to whisper in those days, but he wished that a loud shout declaring Islam publicly be made by the venerable and honorable followers before his departure.

Immediately after embracing Islam, he turned to the Prophet (PBUH) with the following question: "O Messenger of Allah, what is it that you order me?" The Prophet (PBUH) replied, "Go back to your kin until my order reaches you." Abu Dhar said, "In the name of the One Who owns my soul between His hands, I am not going back until I cry out loudly declaring Islam within the mosque!"

Did I not tell you? His temper was restless and agitated. At the same moment when Abu Dhar discovered a totally new world, a wonderful new world represented by the Prophet (PBUH) whom he believed in and by the call which he became acquainted with by the Prophet's tongue, at that same moment he was asked to return silently to his kin. ! that possible? It was beyond his ability.

Hereupon, he entered the Sacred House and cried out as loud as he could, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger!"

As far as we know, it was the first public pronouncement declaring Islam and challenging the arrogance of the Quraish which reached their ears. It was cried out by a stranger who did not have any relatives, reputation, or protection in Makkah.

He acted out of his own dedication and courage even though he knew what was going to happen. He was surrounded by the polytheists, who hit him till he fell down.

This news reached Al `Abbaas, the Prophet's uncle. He came quickly but could not rescue Abu Dhar! except by a clever trick. Thus he told them, "O you Quraish! You are merchants and your route crosses over Ghifaar and this man here is one of their tribesmen. Beware, he may incite his kin against you, provoking them to rob your caravans while passing by." They came back to their senses and left him alone.

Having tasted the sweetness of being hurt in the cause of Allah, Abu Dhar did not want to leave Makkah without being given more. So, on the next day, or perhaps on the same day, Abu Dhar encountered two women circling around two idols (Usaaf and Naa'ilah) and calling upon them. He stood in front of them rudely disgracing their idols. The women shouted loudly, and men hastened as fast as lightening, immediately hitting him until he fell down unconscious.

When he regained consciousness he shouted again that there is no god but Allah and Muhammed (PBUH) is His Messenger.

The Prophet (PBUH) realized the nature of his new disciple and his amazing ability to encounter falsehood. However, the time for public declaration of the message had not yet come, so again he ordered Abu Dhar to go back to his kin and whenever he heard the announcement of the new religion, he would play his role.

Abu Dhar returned to his kin and tribe, telling them about the Prophet (PBUH) who called people to worship only Allah and who guided them to noble manners. His people embraced Islam one by one. Bani Ghifaar alone did not suffice him; he turned to Bani Aslim, to spread his lights there.

Time passed and the Prophet (PBUH) emigrated to Al Madiinah and there, together with Muslims, he settled down.

One day the city welcomed long lines of people on horseback and on foot. Their feet made a great noise. Were it not for their loud shout "Allah is the Greatest", the viewer would have thought it was an attacking polytheist army. The great parade approached and entered Al-Madiinah. Their destination was the Prophet's (PBUH) Mosque. The parade consisted of two tribes, Bani Ghifaar and Bani Aslim. Abu Dhar made them come as Muslims, all of them: men, women, elderly, youth, and even the children!

No doubt, the Prophet's wonder and astonishment increased. In the distant past he had been very astonished when he witnessed one of the tribe of Ghifaar his embracement of Islam, and he had expressed on that day his wonder saying, "Allah guides whom He wills."

But now, the whole tribe had come after already becoming Muslim. It had lived several years under the banner of Islam since Allah guided it by means of Abu Dhar. Now it had come together with Bani Aslim.

The former allies of the devil, the notorious highwaymen, had become the allies of truth and great men of good deeds.

Is it not true that Allah guides whom He pleases? The Prophet (PBUH) looked at their kind faces with eyes full of joy, tenderness, and love. He looked at Bani Ghifaar and said, "May Allah forgive Ghifaar." Then he turned to Bani Aslim and said, "May Allah make peace with Aslim."

Abu Dhar, this magnificent propogator of Islam who was obstinate, unyielding, and difficult to be defeated: was the Prophet (PBUH) not going to salute him with a special greeting?

Indeed, his reward was going to be abundant and his greeting blessed. He was going to carry on his chest- but also his history was going to carry - the highest, most honorable, and most respectable medals. Generations and centuries will pass away, but the Prophet's opinion about Abu Dhar will always stay alive in people's memory: "The earth never carried above it, nor did the sky ever shade under it a more truthful tongue than Abu Dhar's".

The Prophet (PBUH) determined his Companion's future and summed up his whole life in those simple words.

Bold and daring truthfulness was the essence of Abu Dhar's whole life. Truthfulness of his inner soul as well as his appearance. Truthfulness of his faith as well as his tongue. All his life he was truthful. Neither deceiving himself or anyone else, nor allowing anyone to deceive him.

His truthfulness was not mute merit. According to Abu Dhar, truthfulness is never silent. Truthfulness is equivalent to openness and publicity, publicity of truth and challenge to falsehood, support of right and refutation of wrong. Truthfulness is a reasonable ally to truth and a courageous expression of it; both quicken their pace.

The Prophet (PBUH) could see with his unmistaken insight- across remote distances and the far unknown future - all the different difficulties Abu Dhar had to face due to his truthfulness and firmness. He therefore was always ordering him to let patience and deliberateness be his manner.

The Prophet once asked him, "O Abu Dhar! What would you do if you witnessed a time when commanders monopolize the war booty?" He replied, "I swear by Allah Who sent you with the truth, I would strike them with my sword!" The Prophet (PBUH) said to him, "Shall I guide you to what is better? Be patient till you meet me."

Why did the Prophet (PBUH) ask him this specific question? Commanders, money? It was the cause Abu Dhar was going to devote his life to and the problem he was to encounter with society in the future.

The Prophet (PBUH) knew it; therefore he asked him this question in order to provide him with this precious advice: "Be patient till you meet me."

Abu Dhar kept his teacher and Prophet's instruction unforgotten. Therefore, he did not carry a sword against those commanders who enriched themselves by taking what was the public money. But also, he did not keep silent, and he did not let them rest. Indeed, although the Prophet (PBUH) had forbidden him to carry his sword against them, he did not forbid him to carry a sharp truthful tongue. And that is what he did.

* * *

The era of the Prophet (PBUH) and of Abu Bakr and `Umar passed with its complete transcendence over all worldly temptations. Even the tempted desirous and greedy souls could not find a paved and open way for their devious desires. In those days there were no deviations to be oppossed loudly by Abu Dhar's sharp words. As long as the Commander of the Faithful `Umar lived, Muslim governors, rulers, and even the wealthy, were forced to live a humble, modest, aesthetic and just life, almost beyond human capacity. No governor of the Caliph, whether in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, or anywhere else in the region, could ever eat a kind of sweet unaffordable by ordinary people without such a piece of information soon reaching Umar, who would immediately order that governor to return to Al-Madiinah, where he would face a severe punishment. Therefore, Abu Dhar lived without trouble and happily, with much inward peace, as long as `Umar was Commander of the Faithful. Nothing ever annoyed Abu Dhar more than the abuse of power and the monopoly of wealth. `Umar's firm control over power and his fair distribution of wealth allowed him tranquility and satisfaction.

It was because of this that he was able to devote himself to Allah's worship and jihaad in the cause of Allah, never keeping silent if any infringement was seen here or there, which rarely happened.

However, the greatest, most just and most magnificent ruler that human beings were ever to experience left our world one day, leaving behind a tremendous gap, causing inevitable reactions beyond human expectations.

The Islamic campaigns continued, thus bringing under control more regions. At the same time, desires and longing for ambition to enjoy the comforts and luxury of life started to float to the surface. In these events, Abu Dhar saw the impending danger. The banners of personal glory were about to tempt those whose role in life was to lift the standard of Allah. Life with its false embellishments and its wild arrogance was about to tempt those whose role was to make out of life a plantation of good deeds.

Money - created by Allah to be obedient to His servants for the benefit of mankind - was about to turn into a tyrant master. A master of whom? The Prophet's Companions.

The Prophet (PBUH) died with a pawned shield, although piles of war booty were under his service. The excellence of the earth created by Allah for all human beings and with their rights upon it mutually corresponding - was about to turn into a monopoly and privilege Power - a responsibility that pious people tremble at when thinking about its horrible charge in the Hereafter - turned into a means of authority, wealth, and destructive luxury.

Abu Dhar realized all that. He did not search for his duties or responsibilities, but rather took his sword, waved it in the air and set out to face his society with his unbeatable sword. But soon the echo of the Prophet's (PBUH) advice struck his heart, so he returned it to its scabbard. He remembered the Prophet (PBUH) had said he should not lift it in the face of a Muslim.

"It is not lawful for a believer to kill another believer except by error " (4: 92).

His role was not to fight but to oppose. The sword was not a means of change and reformation, but the truthful, sincere, and brave word was. The fair word does not lose its path, and its consequences are not terrifying. The Prophet (PBUH) once said, while surrounded by his Companions, that the earth never carried above it, nor did the sky ever shade a more truthful tongue than Abu Dhar's. Why should someone who owns such a truthful tongue and truthful conviction need a sword?

A single word by him hit the target more than uncountable swords. Therefore, Abu Dhar was to encounter all the governors, the wealthy, and all those who worshipped the worldly life and relied upon it, thereby representing an even greater danger to the religion which came to be a guide, not a tax collector; prophethood, not dominion; mercy, not afflication; humbleness, not superiority; equality, not differentiation; satisfaction, not greed; sufficiency, not luxury and a life of ease full of temptation, with this life the only goal.

So Abu Dhar went out to face all those challenges, and Allah will judge truthfully between him and them, and Allah is the Most Just of Judges.

* * *

Abu Dhar went out to the strongholds of power and wealth, attacking them one after the other. Within a short time he became the standard around which the laborers of Islam and the masses gathered. Even in the remote districts where people had not yet met him, word about him got around and he became well known until he hardly passed through a land in which his name had not reached the ears of some the people and without crucial questions being raised which threatened the welfare and worldly interests of the powerful and wealthy.

If this honorable, rebellious Companion was to select an appropriate standard for himself and his movement, he would not find a better one than an iron, a glowing, hot, and flaming iron. Thus he turned the following words into his chant and earnest appeal, repeating them every time and every place he went. People repeated them after him as if they were an anthem:

Announce to those who hoard up gold and silver, the warning of branding irons with which their foreheads and bodies will be branded in the hereafter.

He never ascended a mountain or descended a valley or entered a city or faced a ruler without repeating the same words, so much so that people would always welcome him when he approached them by repeating "Announce to those who hoard up gold and silver, the warning of branding irons."

This statement turned into "signature time" for his message to which he devoted his life. That was because he saw wealth being accumulated and monopolized for power and being turned into a means of supremacy and abuse. He saw an overwhelming passion for life which was about to erase all beauty, piety, devotion, and sincerity built up during the previous years of the great mission of the Messenger of Allah.

When he began his attack, he started with the most authoritative and horrible stronghold: there in Syria, where Mu`aawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyaan was ruling one of the most fertile lands in the world of Islam, granting and distributing money carelessly, thereby bestowing undeserved privileges upon people of power and rank in order to guarantee his future, a future he aspired to promote. There in Syria, the country of overwhelming palaces, country estates and fortunes which tempted the remnants of the carriers of the Islamic message, he began his attack. Abu Dhar wanted to confront the center of danger before it ruined and destroyed all Muslims.

The leader of the opposition to corrupt worldly power wore his humble gown and hastened as fast as lightning towards Syria. Ordinary people hardly heard about his arrival before they hurried to welcome him with great enthusiasm and longing desire, surrounding him wherever he would go or stay. "O Abu Dhar, please tell us... O, Companion of the Prophet (PBUH) please tell us..."

Sharp-eyed he would take a glance at the multitude around him, seeing the majority of them suffering from poverty and need. He then directed his eyes to a place not too far away where he saw many palaces and landed estates. Then he shouted to those around him, "I wonder why those who don't find something to eat don't go out holding their swords ready to fight?"

Then he immediately remembered the Prophet's admonition to replace opposition and rebellion with patience, and to replace the sword with brave and daring words, abandoning the language of war and returning to logic, reason, and conviction; teaching people that they are all equal like the teeth of a comb; that they are all partners as far as the means of living are concerned; that no one is superior to another except in piety; and that their ruler should be the first to starve if the people suffer hunger and the last to satisfy his appetite if they become sated.

He decided to create by means of his words and bravery a public opinion all over the Muslim countries which would represent, through its intelligence, indomitability, and strength, a hindering force to the deviations of the rulers and the rich and wealthy, in order to hinder the appearance and spread of a power- and wealth- monopolizing class.

Within a few days, the whole of Syria turned into what resembled a bee-hive which had found its queen. If Abu Dhar would have given the slightest passing gesture of revolt, the whole of Syria would have been set on fire. But, as mentioned before, he focused his interest on creating a respectable public opinion. His words turned into the subject of conversation everywhere, inside mosques, during meetings, and even on roads. Danger increased and reached its peak for Abu Dhar, speaking about the newly acquired privileges of the rich and powerful, on the day in which be argued with Mu'aawiyah in front of the masses. Every witness of that debate told those who missed it, so that its news spread as fast as wildfire.

Abu Dhar, who possessed the most truthful tongue on earth, as the Prophet (PBUH) described him, stood up. He asked Mu'aawiyah about his wealth before and after being in power, about the house in which he was living in Makkah, and the castles he owned in Syria. Then he raised the question to the Companions who had accompanied Mu`aawiyah to Syria and were now owners of estates and castles.

After that he cried to them "is it you among whom the Prophet lived when the Qur'aan was being revealed? Then he answered himself, "Yes, it is you! The Qur'aan was revealed among you. It is you who experienced with the Prophet (PBUH) all the different scenes.

Then he asked them again, "Can't you find this verse in the Book of Allah? .... and those who hoard up gold and silver, and do not expend it in the cause of GOD, announce to them a painful chastisment - On the Day when it shall be heated in the Fire of Hell, and with it their foreheads, and their bodies, and their backs shall be branded, "This is what you treasured for yourselves, so taste the evil of what you were treasuring " (9: 34-35).

However, Mu'aawiyah wanted to end the whole dispute by arguing that this verse was mentioned regarding the People of the Book (i.e. the Jews and Christians). Hereupon cried Abu Dhar, "No, it has been revealed for us all."

Abu Dhar then continued his talk, advising Mu'aawiyah and his followers to give up their landed estates, castles, money, and all their possessions, and to abstain from saving for themselves more than their daily need.

Through the people's assemblies, congregations, and meetings, the news of the debate spread and reached everyone's ears.

Louder and louder was Abu Dhar's anthem to be heard everywhere: "Announce to those who hoard up gold and silver the warning of branding irons." Mu'aawiyah felt the danger of the words of the great, honorable, and rebellious Companion who terrified him. Yet Mu'aawiyah appreciated his value and did not harm him, but he immediately wrote to the Caliph `Uthmaan say Allah be pleased with him), "Abu Dhar spoils the people in Syria."

`Uthmaan sent for Abu Dhar, asking him to come to Al-Madiinah. Abu Dhar set off from Syria with kindness, affection, and honor. His farewell day was celebrated in Syria in a manner Damascus had never witnessed the like of.

* * *

"I don't need your world!" That is what Abu Dhar said to the Caliph `Uthmaan after be reached Al-Madlinah and a prolonged conversation took place between them.

After this conversation and after having heard the news coming from all different regions of the Muslim world, it was confirmed that Abu Dhar's opinions had actually agitated the multitudes, who began to crystallize around them. It was at that time that `Uthmaan began to truly realize the actual danger of Abu Dhar's opinion and its strength. He therefore decided to keep him beside him at Al-Madiinah.

`Uthmaan presented to him his decision in a very kind and friendly way. He said to him, "Stay here beside me. You will be endowed with blessings day and night." Abu Dhar then answered, "I don't need your world."

Indeed, he did not need people's world. He was one of those saints who searched for the enrichment of their soul, dedicating his life to giving, not to receiving!

He asked the Caliph `Uthmaan (May Allah be pleased with him) to allow him to go out to Ar-Rabadhah, and he allowed him. Despite his fierce opposition, he stayed dose to Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) in a very honest way, always keeping within his soul the Prophet's advice never to carry a sword. It was as if the Prophet had seen the whole of Abu Dhar's destiny and future, so he bestowed upon him this precious advice.

Abu Dhar never hid his annoyance when seeing those who liked to ignite the flames of civil strife by using his words and opinions as a mean to satisfy their passionate desire and cunning deceits.

One day, while in Ar-Rabadhah, a delegation from Kufa came to ask him to raise the flag of revolution against the caliph. He drove them back with decisive words: "By Allah, if `Uthmaan was to crucify me on the longest board or on a mountain, I would patiently obey, for Allah's reward would be waiting for me, and I see it to be the best for me. And if he was to force me to walk from one end of the horizon to the other, I would patiently obey, for Allah's reward would be waiting for me, and I see it to be the best for me. And if he was to force me back to my home I would patiently obey, for Allah's reward would be waiting for me, and I see it to be the best for me."

He was a man who was not interested in any worldly gain; thus he was blessed with insight by Allah. He realized again the tremendous danger involved in armed civil strife; therefore, he abstained from it. But he also realized the tremendous danger involved in silence; therefore, he abstained from it. That is why he raised his voice, not his sword, and raised the word of truth and sincerity.

He was not tempted by greedy desires nor hindered by worldly obstacles.

Abu Dhar kept himself busy with and devoted himself to sincere, honest opposition.

He spent his whole life focusing on the faults of power and the faults of money. Thus power and money possessed the temptation. Abu Dhar was afraid his brethren would fall into their traps - his same brethren who had carried the standard of Islam with the Prophet (PBUH) and whom he wanted to remain the carriers of the Prophet's message (PBUH).

Power and money were, furthermore, the backbone of societies and communities. If misused, the destiny of people would encounter serious and imminent danger.

Abu Dhar wished so much that the Prophet's companions would not be appointed as governors and would not collect fortunes, but would rather stay as they always had been: as spiritual guides to the right path for Allah's worshipers.

He knew well the voracity of life and the voracity of money, and he knew that the example of Abu Dhar and `Umar was never going to be repeated! How often did he hear the Prophet (PBUH) asking his Companions to be aware of the temptation of authority saying, "It's a deposition in trust, and on the Day of Resurrection it will be a shame and regret except to the one who was endowed with it justly and accomplished his duty."

Abu Dhar went so far that he avoided his brethren if he did not boycott them, for no other reason than that they had become rules and, of course, had become wealthier.

Abu Muusaa Al-Ash'ariy once met him. He had hardly seen him when he stretched his arms with joy and delight shouting, "Welcome Abu Dhar! Welcome my brother!" But Abu Dhar held himself back saying, "I am not your brother; I was so before you became an administrator and governor".

In the same way, Abu Hurairah once met and embraced him in welcome, but Abu Dhar pushed him back and said, "Isn't it you who became goveror, then extended your buildings and possessed plantations and cattle?" Abu Hurairah defended himself, trying to prove his innocence and refute those rumors.

It may seem that Abu Dhar had an exaggerated position towards power and wealth, but he had a logic which was shaped by his sincerity to himself and his faith. Thus, Abu Dhar stood with his dreams, deeds, behavior, and viewpoints according to the same standard the Prophet (PBUH) and his two Companions Abu Bakr and `Umar had left behind.

If some people saw that standard to be an out-of-reach ideal, Abu Dhar saw it to be an example charting the path of life and toil especially for those who had actually experienced the Prophet (PBUH), prayed behind him, taken part in jihaad with him, and sworn the oath of allegiance to him.

In addition to that - as mentioned before - his inspired intellect knew the decisive influence of power and property in determining people's destiny. Therefore, any disturbance which might afflict the trustworthiness of power or the fairness of wealth represents an imminent danger which must be resisted and opposed.

* * *

As long as he lived, Abu Dhar upheld the standard of the Prophet (PBUH) and his two Companions' good example. He was a great figure in the art of predominance over the temptation of power and wealth. The governorship of Iraq was once offered to him, but he said, "By Allah, you will never tempt me with your world."

Once, one of his companions saw him wearing an old gown and asked him, "Don't you have another one? I saw you a couple of days ago with two other gowns in your hands." Abu Dhar replied, "O cousin! I gave them to someone who needed them more than I do." He said to him, " By Allah, you need them!" Abu Dhar then answered, "May Allah forgive us. You glorify this life! Can't you see that I am wearing a gown? And I own another one for the congregational Friday prayer. Moreover, I own a goat which I milk and a donkey which I ride. Is there a better blessing?"

* * *

He once sat down talking to people and said, "My friend advised me to do seven things:

*He asked me to love the poor and to get closer to them.

*He asked me to look to those who are inferior and not to those who are superior.

*He asked me never to ask anyone for anything (i.e. to abstain from begging).

* He asked me to be kind to my relatives.

* He asked me to say the truth, no matter how sour it may be.

* He asked me never to be afraid of a critic's censure.

*And he asked me to frequently say, "There is no power nor might except Allah's."


He lived according to this advice until he became a living conscience moving among his people.

Imam Aliy once said, "There is no one nowadays who is nonchalant about people's criticism - as far as Allah and His rules are concerned - except Abu Dhar."

He lived opposing the abuse of power and the monopoly of property. He lived resisting all that was wrong and building all that was right. He lived devoted to the responsibility of good advice and warning.
When he was hindered from spelling out his fatwaa (formal legal opinion in Islamic law), he raised his voice and said to those hindering him, "By the name of the One in Whose hands my soul is, if you put the sword to my neck and I still thought that I could carry out a word I've heard from the Prophet (PBUH) before you cut, I would carry it out."

Had the Muslims listened on that day to his advice, a lot of civil strife and turmoil would have been prevented - turmoil that reached its peak and dangers that became grave, serious, and imminent. The state, society and Muslim nation had to face all that rebellion and aggrevated, alarming danger.

But then Abu Dhar was suffering the agony of death in Ar Rabadhah, the place he chose to stay in after his disagreement with Uthmaan say Allah be pleased with him). Let us go to him to give him farewell and let us see how the last scene of his admirable life is.

This slim dark-skinned woman sitting crying beside him is his wife. He is asking her, "Why do you cry and death is true?" She answers crying, "You are dying and I don't have a gown which suffices to be a winding sheet!!" He smiles like a passing evening glow and says to her "Calm down. Don't cry. I heard the Prophet (PBUH) once saying while I was sitting among a number of Companions "one of you will die in a desert land, and a group of the faithful will witness him." All those who were sitting with me at that assembly have died, whether in a village or among a congregation. No one is left except me, and now I am dying in a desert land. Watch out, a group of the faithful will soon show up. By Allah, I didn't lie in my life." He passed away. Blessed was he.

There is a caravan which sets off on a journey across the desert.

It consists of a group of the faithful with `Abd Allah Ibn Mas'uud, the Prophet's Companion, at their head. lbn Mas'uud visualized the scene before he reached it: a scene of an out-stretched body like that of a dead person and beside him a crying woman and boy.

He redirects his camel's bridle and the whole caravan follows him towards the scene. He has hardly taken a look at the dead body, when he realizes that it is his companion brother in Islam, Abu Dhar.

His tears roll down abundantly while he stands in front of this virtuous body saying, "The Messenger of Allah was truthful You will walk alone, die alone, and resurrect alone."

lbn Mas'uud (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated the interpretation of the statement "You will walk alone, die alone, and resurrect alone," to his companions:

* * *

That was in the ninth year after Hijrah, during the Battle of Tabuuk, when the Prophet, (PBUH) had ordered full preparation to meet the Romans, who had begun to carry out their conspiracies and cunning tricks against Islam.

The days in which people were asked to go out for jihaad were very hot, distressful, and hard. The destination was far away and the enemy terrifying.

A group of Muslims refrained from going forth, justifying their position with different apologies. The Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions went forth. The farther they went, the more exhausted and tired they became. Whenever a man stayed behind people said, "O Prophet! So-and-so stayed behind." He then said, "Let him! If he's any good, he will reach you. If he's something else, then Allah will save you his trouble."

One day the people turned around. They could not find Abu Dhar. They told the Prophet (PBUH) that Abu Dhar had stayed behind and his camel had slowed down. It is here that the Prophet (PBUH) repeated his first statement. Abu Dhar's camel became weaker under the severe pressure of hunger, thirst, and hot weather. It stumbled due to weakness and fatigue. Abu Dhar tried by all means to force it to move forward, but the burden of the camel's exhaustion was too heavy.

Finally, Abu Dhar felt that he would be left behind, losing the caravan's traces. Therefore, he dismounted from his camel, took his belongings, carried them on his back, and continued his route on foot over the burning desert sand, hurrying in order to rejoin the Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions.

In the early morning, while the Muslims were stopped for a while to rest, one of them saw a cloud of dust and sand behind which the shadow of a man could be seen. The one who saw that said to the Prophet (PBUH), "O Messenger of Allah, there is someone walking alone." The Prophet (PBUH) said, "It is Abu Dhar."

The Muslims continued their talk until the man crossed the remaining distance between them. Only then were they able to know who he was.

The respectful traveler approached little by little. Although he could only with great effort pull his feet out of the burning sand and with a lot of pain carry the heavy burden on his back, he was very delighted to have finally reached the blessed caravan without staying behind and abandoning the Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions.

When he at last reached the caravan, someone shouted, "O Prophet, it's Abu Dhar." Abu Dhar beaded towards the Prophet (PBUH). The Prophet (PBUH) had hardly seen him, when he tenderly, kindly, and sadly smiled and said, "Allah will have mercy upon Abu Dhar. He walks alone, dies alone, and resurrects alone."

* * *

Twenty years or more had passed since then. Abu Dhar died alone in the desert of Ar-Rabadhah, having walked on a path no one else had passed over so gloriously .

He is also remembered alone by history for his brave resistance and his great asceticism. Allah will also resurrect him alone, because the multitude of his various merits will not enable anyone else to find a place near him.

(4)
BILAAL IBN RABAAH

Sneering at Horror!



Whenever Umar lbn Al khattaab mentioned Abu Bakr he would say, "Abu Bakr is our master and the emancipator of our master." That is to say, Bilaal.

Indeed, the man to whom `Umar would give the agnomen "Our Master" must be a great and fortunate man. However, this man - who was very dark in complexion, slender, very tall, thick- haired and with a sparse beard, as described by the narrators - would hardly hear words of praise and commendation directed at him and bestowed bountifully upon him without bending his head, lowering his eyelids and saying with tears flowing down his two cheeks, "Indeed, I am an Abyssinian. Yesterday, I was only a slave!"

So who is this Abyssinian who was yesterday only a slave? He is Bilaal Ibn Rabaah the announcer of the time of Muslim prayer and the troublemaker to the idols. He was one of the miracles of faith and truthfulness, one of Islam's great miracles. For out of every ten Muslims, from the beginning of Islam until today and until Allah wills, we will meet seven, at least, who know Bilaal. That is, there are hundreds of millions of people throughout the centuries and generations who know Bilaal, remember his name, and know his role just as they know the two greatest Caliphs in Islam, Abu Bakr and `Umar!

Even if you ask a child who is still in his first years of primary school in Egypt, Pakistan, Malaysia, or China, in the two Americas, Europe, or Russia, in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran, or Sudan, in Tunis, Algeria, or Morocco, in the depth of Africa and in the mountains of Asia, in every place on the earth where Muslims reside, you can ask any Muslim child, "Who is Bilaal, child?" He will answer you, "He was the muezzin of the Messenger (PBUH) and he was the slave whose master used to torture him with hot burning stones to make him apostatize. But instead he said, "One, One."

Whenever you consider this enduring fame that Islam bestowed upon Bilaal, you should know that before Islam this Bilaal was no more than a slave who tended herds of camels for his master for a handful of dates. Had it not been for Islam, it would have been his fate to remain a slave, wandering among the crowd until death brought an end to his life and caused him to perish in the profoundest depths of forgetfulness.

However, his faith proved to be true, and the magnificence of the religion which he believed in gave him, during his lifetime and in history, an elevated place among the great and holy men of Islam. Indeed, many human beings of distinction, prestige, or wealth have not obtained even one-tenth of the immortality which Bilaal the Abyssinian slave gained. Indeed, many historical figures were not conferred even a portion of the fame which has been bestowed upon Bilaal.

Indeed, the black color of his complexion, his modest lineage, and his contemptible position among people as a slave did not deprive him, when he chose to embrace Islam, of occupying the high place which his truthfulness, certainty, purity, and self-sacrifice qualified him for. For him, all this would not have been on the scale of estimation and honor except as an astonishing occurrence when greatness is found where it could not possibly be.

People thought that a slave like Bilaal - who descended from strange roots, who had neither kinfolk nor power, who did not possess any control over his life but was himself a possession of his master who had bought him with his money, who came and went amid the sheep, camels, and other livestock of his master - they thought that such a human creature would neither have power over anything, nor become anything. But he went beyond all expectations and possessed great faith that no one like him could possess! He was the first muezzin of the Messenger and of Islam, a position which was aspired to by all the masters and nobles of the Quraish who embraced Islam and followed the Messenger. Yes, Bilaal lbn Rabaah.

Oh what valor and greatness are expressed by these three words Bilaal Ibn Rabaah!

* * *

He was an Abyssinian from the black race. His destiny made him a slave of some people of the tribe of Jumah in Makkah, where his mother was one of their slave girls. He led the life of a slave whose bleak days were alike and who had no right over his day and no hope for his tomorrow.

The news of Muhammad's (PBUH) call began and reached his ears when people in Makkah began to talk about it and when he began listening to the discussions of his master and his guests, especially Umayah lbn khalaf, one of the elders of the Bani Jumah, of which Bilaal was one of the slaves. How often did he hear Urnayah talking to his friends for some time and to some persons of his tribe. Many times they talked about the Messenger with words that were overflowing with anxiety, rage, and malice!

Bilaal, on the other hand, was receiving between those words of insane fury and rage the attributes of this new religion. He began to feel that they were new qualities for the environment which he lived in. He was also able to receive during their threatening, thunderous talks their acknowledgement of Muhammad's nobility, truthfulness, and loyalty. Yes indeed, he heard them wondering and amazed at what Muhammad came with. They said to one another, "Muhammad was never a liar, magician, or mad, but we have to describe him this way until we turn away from him those who rush to his religion."

He heard them talking about his honesty and loyalty, about his manliness and nobility, and about his purity and composure of his intelligence. He heard them whispering about the reasons which caused them to challenge and antagonize him: First, their allegiance to the religion of their fathers; Second, their fear over the glory of the Quraish which was bestowed upon them because of their religious status as a center of idol worship and resort in the whole of the Arabian Peninsula; Third, the envy of the tribe of Bani Haashim that anyone from them should claim to be a prophet or messenger.

* * *

One day Bilaal Ibn Rabaah recognized the light of Allah and heard His resonance in the depths of his good soul. So he went to the Messenger of Allah and converted to Islam. It did not take long before the news of his embracing Islam was spread. It was a shock to the chiefs of the Bani Jumah, who were very proud and conceited. The devils of the earth sat couched over the breast of Umayah Ibn khalaf, who considered the acceptance of Islam by one of their slaves a blow that overwhelmed them with shame and disgrace.

Their Abyssinian slave converted to Islam and followed Muhammad. Umayah said to himself, "It does not matter. Indeed the sun this day shall not set but with the Islam of this stray slave." However, the sun never did set with the Islam of Bilaal, but it set one day with all the idols of the Quraish and the patrons of paganism among them.

* * *

As for Bilaal, he adopted an attitude that would honor not only Islam, even though Islam was more worthy of it, but also all humanity. He resisted the harshest kind of torture like all pious great men. Allah made him an example of the fact that blackness of skin and bondage would not decry the greatness of the soul if it found its faith, adhered to its Creator, and clung to its right.

Bilaal gave a profound lesson to those of his age and every age, for those of his religion and every religion, a lesson which embraced the idea that freedom and supremacy of conscience could not be bartered either for gold or punishment, even if it filled the earth. He was stripped naked and laid on hot coals to make him renounce his religion, but he refused.

The Messenger (PBUH) and Islam made this weak Abyssinian slave a teacher to all humanity in the art of respecting conscience and defending its freedom and supremacy. They used to take him out in the midday heat when the desert turned to a fatal hell. Then they would throw him naked on its scorching rocks and bring a burning hot rock, which took several men to lift from its place, and throw it onto his body and chest. This savage torture was repeated every day until the hearts of some of his executioners took pity on him. Finally, they agreed to set him free on condition that he would speak well of their gods, even with only one word that would allow them to keep their pride so that the Quraish would not say they had been defeated and humiliated by the resistence of their persevering slave.

But even this one word, which he could eject from outside his heart and with it buy his life and soul without losing his faith or abandoning his conviction, Bilaal refused to say. Yes, he refused to say it and began to repeat his lasting chant Instead: "One... One!" His torturers shouted at him, imploring him, "Mention the name of Al-Laat and Al-'Uzzaa." But he answered, "One . . . One" They said to him, "Say as we say." But he answered them with remarkable mockery and caustic irony, "Indeed my tongue is not good at that."

So Bilaal remained in the melting heat and under the weight of the heavy rock, and by sunset they raised him up and put a rope around his neck. Then they ordered their boys to take him around the mountains and streets of Makkah. And Bilaal's tongue did not mention anything other than his holy chant, "One... One."

When the night overtook them, they began bargaining with him, "Tomorrow, speak well of our gods, say, `My lord is Al-Laat and Al `Uzzaa,' and we'll leave you alone. We are tired of torturing you as if we are the tortured ones." But he shook his head and said, "One... One." So, Umayah Ibn khalaf kicked him and exploded with exasperating fury, and shouted, "What bad luck has thrown you upon us, O slave of evil? By Al-Laat and Al-'Uzzaa, I'll make you an example for slaves and masters." But Bilaal answered with the holy greatness and certainty of a believer, "One... One."

And he who was assigned to play the role of a sympathizer returned to talking and bargaining. He said "Take it easy, Umayah. By Al-Laat, he will not be tortured again. Indeed Bilaal is one of us, his mother is our slave girl He will not be pleased to talk about and ridicule us because of his Islam." But Bilaal gazed at their lying cunning faces, and his mouth slackened like the light of dawn. He said with calmness that shook them violently, "One... One."

It was the next day and midday approached. Bilaal was taken to the sun-baked ground. He was patient, brave, firm, and expecting the reward in the Hereafter.

Abu Bakr As-siddiiq went to them while they were torturing him and shouted at them, "Are you killing a man because he says, `Allah is my Lord?"' Then he shouted at Umayah lbn khalaf, "Take more than his price and set him free." It was as if Umayah were drowning and had caught a lifeboat. It was to his liking and he was very much pleased when he heard Abu Bakr offering the price of his freedom, since they had despaired of subjugating Bilaal. And as they were merchants, they realized that selling him was more profitable to them than his death.

They sold him to Abu-Bakr, and then he emancipated him immediately, and Bilaal took his place among free men. When As- siddilq put his arm round Bilaal, rushing with him to freedom, Umayah said to him, "Take him, for by Al-Laat and Al-' Uzzaa if you had refused to buy him except for one ounce of gold, I would have sold him to you." Abu Bakr realized the bitterness of despair and disappointment hidden in these words. It was appropriate not to answer, but because they violated the dignity of this man who had become his brother and his equal, he answered Umayah saying, "By Allah, if you had refused to sell him except for a hundred ounces, I would have paid it." He departed with his companion to the Messenger of Allah, giving him news of his liberation, and there was a great celebration.

After the Hijrah of the Messenger (PBUH) and the Muslims to Al-Madiinah and their settling there, the Messenger instituted the Adhaan. So who would become the muezzin five times a day? Who would call across distant lands, "Allah is the Greatest" and "There is no god but Allah"?

It was Bilaal, who had shouted thirteen years before while the torture was destroying him, "Allah is One... One." He was chosen by the Messenger that day to be the first muezzin in Islam. With his melodious soul-stirring voice, he filled the hearts with faith and the ears with awe when he called:

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

Come to Prayer

Come to Prayer

Come to Success

Come to Success

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest

There is no god but Allah

Fighting broke out between the Muslims and the army of the Quraish who came to invade Al-Madiinah. The war raged fiercely and terribly while Bilaal was there attacking and moving about in the first battle. Islam was plunged into the Battle of Badr, whose motto the Messenger (PBUH) ordered to be, "One... One."

* * *

In this battle, the Quraish sacrificed their youth and all their noblemen to their destruction. Umayah Ibn khalaf, who had been Bilaal's master and who used to torture him with deadly brutality, was about to retreat from fighting. But his friend Uqbah Ibn Abu Mu`iit went to him when he heard the news of his withdrawal, carrying a censer in his right hand. When he arrived he was sitting among his people. He threw the censer between his hands and said to him, "O Abu `Ally, use this. You are one of the women." But Umayah shouted at him saying, "May Allah make you and what you came with ugly!" And he did not find a way out, so he went out to fight.

What other secrets does destiny conceal and unfold? `Uqbah Ibn Abu Mu'iit had been the greatest supporter of Umayah in the torture of Bilaal and other weak Muslims. And on that day, he himself was the one who urged him to go to the Battle of Badr where he would die, just as it would be the place where Uqbah would die! Umayah had been one of the shirkers from war. Had it not been for what Uqbah did to him, he would not have gone out fighting.

But Allah executes His command. So let Umayah go out, because there was an old account between him and one of the slaves of Allah. It was time to settle it. The Judge never dies. As you owe, you shall be owed to.

Indeed destiny would be very much pleased to mock the tyrants. Uqbah, whose provocations Umayah used to listen to and follow his desire to torture the innocent believers, was the same person who would lead Umayah to his death. By the hand of whom? By the hand of Bilaal himself and Bilaal alone! The same hands that Umayah used to chain and whose owner he beat and tortured. Those very hands were on that day, in the Battle of Badr, on a rendezvous that destiny had set the best time for, with the torture of the Quraish who had humiliated the believers unjustly and aggressively. That is what really happened.

When the fighting began between the two sides, and the side of the Muslims shouted the motto, "One . . . One," the heart of Umayah was startled, and a warning came to him. The word which his slave used to repeat yesterday under torture and horror became today the motto of a whole religion and of a whole new nation.

"One . . . One" Is it so? With this quickness? And with this rapid growth?

* * *

The swords clashed in the battle and the fighting became severe. As the battle neared its end, Umayah lbn Khalaf noticed `Abd Ar Rahman Ibn `Awf, the Companion of the Messenger of Allah. He sought refuge with him and asked to be his captive, hoping to save his life. `Abd Ar-Rahman accepted his supplication and granted him refuge. Then he took him and walked with him amidst the battle to the place where captives were held.

On the way Bilaal noticed him and shouted, "The head of kuft (disbelief), Umayah lbn Khalaf! May I not be saved if he is saved!" he lifted up his sword to cut off the head which was all the time full of pride and arrogance. But `Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn `Awf shouted at him, "O Bilaal, he is my captive!" A captive while the war was still raging? A captive while his sword was still dripping blood because of what he had been doing just moments before to the bodies of the Muslims? No! In Bilaal's opinion, this was irony and abuse of the mind, and Umayah had scoffed and abused the mind enough. He scoffed until there was no irony remaining for such a day, such a dilemma, and such a fate!

Bilaal realized that he would not be able alone to storm the sanctuary of his brother in faith, `Abd Ar-rahman Ibn `Awf. So he shouted at the top of his voice to the Muslims, "O helpers of Allah! The head of Kufr, Umayah Ibn khalaf! May I not be saved if he is saved!" A band of Muslims approached with swords dripping blood. They surrounded Umayah and his son, who was fighting with the Quraish. `Abd Ar-Rabman Ibn `Awf could not do anything. He could not even protect his armor which the crowd removed. Bilaal gazed long at the body of Umayah, who fell beneath the smashing swords. Then he hastened away from him shouting, "One... One."

* * *

I do not think it is our right to examine the virtue of leniency in Bilaal on this occasion. If the meeting between Bilaal and Umayah had taken place in other circumstances, we would have been allowed to ask Bilaal for leniency, and a man like him in faith and piety would not have withheld it. But the meeting which took place between them was in a war, where each party came to destroy its enemy.

The swords were blazing, the killed were failing. Then Bilaal saw Umayah, who had not left even a small place on his body free of the traces of his torture. Where and how did he see him? He saw him in the arena of battle and fighting, mowing down with his sword all of the heads of Muslims he could. If he had reached the head of Bilaal then, he would have cut it off. In such circumstances as the two men met, it is not fair to ask Bilaal: Why did you not forgive him gently?

* * *

The days went by and Makkah was conquered. The Messenger (PBUH) entered it, thankful and saying, "Allah is the Greatest," at the head of 10,000 Muslims. He headed for the Ka`bah immediately, this holy place which the Quraish had crowded with idols amounting to the number of days of the year. "The truth has come and falsehood has vanished."

Ever since that day, there has been no Uzzaa, no Laat and no Hubal. Man will not bow to a rock or idol after today. People will worship no one with all his conscience but Allah, Who has no likeness, the One, Most Great, Most High. The Messenger entered the Ka`bah accompanied by Bilaal. He had hardly entered it when he faced a carved idol representing lbraahiim (Abraham) (PBUH) prophesying with sticks.

The Messenger (PBUH) was angry and said, "May Allah kill them. Our ancestor never did prophesy with sticks. lbraahiim was not a Jew or Christian, but he was a true Muslim and was never a polytheist." Then he ordered Bilaal to ascend to the top of the mosque and call to Prayer, and Bilaal called the Adhaan. How magnificent `was the time, place, and occasion!

Life came to a standstill in Makkah, and thousands of Muslims stood like motionless air, repeating in submissiveness and whispering the words of the Adhaan after Bilaal while the polytheists were in their homes hardly believing what was happening.

Is this Muhammad (PBUH) and his poor followers who were expelled yesterday from their homes? Is this really he, with 10,000 of his believers? Is this really he whom we chased away, fought and killed his most beloved kin and relations? Is this really he who was speaking to us a few minutes ago while our necks were at his mercy, saying, "Go, you are free!"?

But three nobles of the Quraish were sitting in the open space in front of the Kabah, as if they were touched by the scene of Bilaal treading their idols with his feet and sending above its heaped wreckage his voice with the Adhaan, spreading to all the horizons of Makah, like a passing spring. These three were Abu Sufyaan lbn Harb, who had embraced Islam only hours ago, and `Attaab Ibn Usaid and Al-haarith Ibn Hishaam, who had not yet embraced Islam.

`Attaab, with his eyes on Bilaal crying out the Adhaan, said, "Allah has honored Usaid in that he did not hear this, or else he would have heard what would infuriate him." Al-haarith said, "By Allah, if I were sure that Muhammad (PBUH) is telling the truth, I would follow him." Abu Sufyaan, the old fox, commented on their speech saying, "I am not saying a word, for if I do, these pebbles will inform about me."

When the Prophet left the Ka'bah he saw them, read their faces instantly, and said with his eyes shining with the light of Allah and the joy of victory, "I know what you've said," and he told them what they had said.

Al-Haarith and Attaab shouted, `We bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah. By Allah, no one heard us, so we can't say somebody informed you!"

And they welcomed Bilaal with new hearts, which enclosed the echo of the words which they had heard in the Messenger's speech just after he entered Makkah. "O people of the Quraish, Allah has removed from you the arrogance of pre-Islamic paganism, and its boasting about forefathers. People are descended from Adam, and Adam was from dust."

* * *

Bilaal lived with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), witnessing all the battles with him, calling to Prayer and observing the rites of this great religion that took him out of darkness to light and from servitude to freedom. The stature of Islam along with the stature of Muslims was elevated. Every day Bilaal was getting closer to the heart of the Messenger of Allah, who used to describe him as "one of the inhabitants of Paradise."

But Bilaal remained just as he was, noble and humble, always considering himself "the Abyssinian who only yesterday was a slave." One day he was proposing to two girls for himself and his brother, so be said to their father, " I am Bilaal and this is my brother, two slaves from Abyssinia. We were astray and Allah guided us. We were two slaves and Allah emancipated us. If you agree on us marrying your daughters, all praise is to Allah; if you refuse, then Allah is the Greatest."

* * *

The Messenger passed away to Allah, well pleased and well pleasing, and Abu Bakr As-siddiiq took the command of the Muslims after him. Bilaal went to the caliph (successor) of the Messenger of Allah and said to him, "O Caliph of the Messenger of Allah, I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say, "The best deed of a believer is jihaad in the cause of Allah."

Abu Bakr said to him, "So what do you want, Bilaal?" He said,"I want to defend in the cause of Allah until I die." Abu Bakr said, "And who will call the Adhaan for us?" Bilaal said, with his eyes overflowing with tears, "I will not call the Adhaan for anyone after the Messenger of Allah." Abu Bakr said, "Stay and call to Prayer for us, Bilaal." Bilaal said, "If you emancipated me to be for you, I will do what you want, but if you emancipated me for Allah, leave me to Whom I was emancipated for." Abu Bakr said, "I emancipated you for Allah, Bilaal."

The narrators differ. Some of them believe that he traveled and remained fighting and defending. Some others narrate that he accepted Abu Bakr's request to stay with him in Madiinah. When Abu Bakr died and Umar succeeded him, Bilaal asked his permission and went to Syria.

Anyhow, Bilaal vowed the remaining part of his life to fight in the cause of Islam, determined to meet Allah and His Messenger having done the best deed they love.

His melodious, welcoming, awe-inspiring voice did not call the Adhaan any more, because whenever he uttered in his Adhaan, "I bear witness that Muhammad (PBUH) is the Messenger of Allah," memories would stir him, and his voice would vanish under his sadness while the tears cried out the words.

His last Adhaan was during the days Umar, the Commander of the Faithful, when he visited Syria. The Muslims entreated him to persuade Bilaal to call one Adhaan for them. The Commander of the Faithful called Bilaal when it was time for Prayer and pleaded with him to make the Adhaan. Bilaal ascended and did so. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) who were with the Commander of the Faithful while Bilaal was calling the Adhaan wept as they never did before, and Umar the most strongly.

Bilaal died in Syria, fighting in the cause of Allah just as he had wanted. Beneath the dust of Damascus, today therlies the body of one of the greatest men of humankind in standing up for the creed of Islam with conviction.

(5)
`ABD ALLAH IBN `UMAR

The Persistent and Repentant to Allah



When he was at the peak of his long life he said, " I swore the oath of allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH). I never broke my oath, nor have I turned to something else to this day. I never swore allegiance to those in civil strife, nor did I awake a sleeping Muslim."

These words are a summary of the life of that virtuous man who lived past the age of 80. His relationship with Islam and the Prophet began when he was only 13 years old, when he accompanied his father to the battle of Badr, hoping to have a place among the Mujaahiduun, but he was sent back by the Prophet due to his young age. Since that day - and even before that when he accompanied his father on his Hijrah to Al-Madiinah - that young boy who possessed premature manly merits began his relation with the Prophet of Islam (PBUH).

From that day till the day he passed away at the age of 85, we will always find him persistent, repentant, never deviating from his path, not even by a hairbreadth, never breaking the oath of allegiance which he had sworn, nor breaking a pledge he had made. The merits of `Abd Allah Ibn `Umar, which dazzle people's vision, are abundant. Among these are his knowledge, modesty, the straightness of his conscience and path, his generosity, piety, persistence in worship, and his sincere adherence to the Prophet's model. By means of all these merits and qualities did Ibn `Umar shape his unique personality, his sincere and truthful life.

He learned a lot of good manners from his father, `Umar Ibn Al khattaab, and together with him, they learned from the Prophet (PBUH) all the good manners and all that can be described as noble virtues.

Like his father, his belief in Allah and His Prophet was perfect; therefore, the way he pursued the Prophet's steps was admirable. He was always looking at what the Prophet was doing in every matter and then humbly imitating his deeds to the finest detail. For example, wherever the Prophet prayed, there also would lbn `Umar pray, and on the same spot. If the Prophet invoked Allah while standing, then lbn 'Umar would invoke Allan while standing. If the Prophet invoked Allah while sitting, so also would lbn `Umar invoke Allah while sitting. On the same particular route where the Prophet once dismounted from his camel and prayed two rak'ahs, so would lbn `Umar do the same while traveling to the same place.

Moreover, he remembered that the Prophet's camel turned twice at a certain spot in Makkah before the Prophet dismounted and before his two rak'ahs of prayer. The camel may have done that spontaneously to prepare itself a suitable halting place, but lbn `Umar would reach that spot, turn his camel in a circle, then allow it to kneel down. After that he would pray two rak'ahs in exactly the same manner he had seen the Prophet (PBUH) do. Such exaggerated imitation once provoked the Mother of the Believers `Aa'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) to say, "No one followed the Prophet's steps in his coming and going as lbn `Umar did."

He spent his long, blessed life and his firm loyalty adhering to the Prophet's Sunnah to the extent that a time came when the virtuous Muslims were asking Allan, "O Allah, save lbn `Umar as long as I live so that I can follow him. I don't know anyone still adhering to the early traditions except him."

Similar to that strong and firm adherence to each of the Prophet's steps and practice (Sunnah) was lbn `Umar's respect for the Prophetic traditions (Hadith). He never related a hadith unless he remembered it to the letter. His contemporaries said, "None of the Companions of the Prophet was more cautious not to add or subtract something from a hadith than `Abd Allah lbn `Umar."

In the same way he was very cautious when giving a fatwah (legal formal opinion in Islamic law). One day somebody came to ask him a fatwah . When he put forward his question, lbn `Umar answered, "I have no knowledge concerning what you are asking about." The man went his way. He had hardly left the place when Ibn `Umar rubbed his hands happily saying to himself, "Ibn `Umar has been asked about what he doesn't know, so he said, ` I don't know!'" He was very much afraid to perform ijtihaad (independent judgment in a legal question) in his fatwah, although he was living according to the instructions of a great religion, a religion which grants a reward to the one who makes a mistake and two rewards to the one who comes out with a correct righteous fatwah. However, lbn `Umar's piety deprived him of the courage to make any fatwahs.

In the same way he refrained from the post of judge. The position of a judge was one of the highest positions of state and society, guaranteeing the one engaged in it wealth, prestige, and glory. But why should the pious Ibn `Umar need money, prestige, and glory? The Caliph `Uthmaan once sent for him and asked him to hold the postion of judge but he apologized. `Uthmaan asked him, "Do you disobey me?" Ibn `Umar answered, "No, but it came to my knowledge that judges are of three kinds one who judges ignorantly: he is in hell; one who judges according to his desire: he is in hell; one who involves himself in making ijtihaad and is unerring in his judgment. That one will turn empty-handed, no sin committed and no reward to be granted. I ask you by Allah to exempt me." `Uthmaan exempted him after he pledged him never to tell anyone about that, for `Uthmaan knew Ibn `Umar's place in people's hearts and he was afraid that if the pious and virtuous knew his refraining from holding the position of judge, they would follow him and do the same, and then the Caliph would not find a pious person to be judge.

It may seem as if Ibn `Umar's stance was a passive one. However, it was not so. Ibn `Umar did not abstain from accepting the post when there was no one more suitable to hold it than himself. In fact a lot of the Prophet's pious and virtuous Companions were actually occupied with fatwah and judgment.

His restraint and abstention would not paralyze the function of jurisdiction, nor would it cause it to be held by unqualified ones, so Ibn `Umar preferred to devote his time to purifying his soul with more worship and more obedience. Furthermore, in that stage of Islamic history, life became more comfortable and luxurious, money more abundant, positions and authoritative ranks more available. The temptation of money and authoritative ranks began to enter the hearts of the pious and faithful , which made some of the Prophet's Companions - Ibn `Umar among them - to lift the banner of resistance to that temptation by means of making themselves models and examples of worship, piety, and abstention, refraining from high ranks in order to defeat their temptation.

* * *

Ibn `Umar made himself a "friend of the night", praying at night, crying, and asking forgiveness during its latter hours before daybreak. He had once, during his youth, seen a dream. The Prophet interpreted it in a way which made the night prayer `Abd Allah's utmost hope and a means of his delight and joy.

Let us listen to him, while he narrates the story of his dream: During the Prophetic era, I saw a dream in which I was riding a piece of brocade which let me fly to any place in Paradise I wished. Then I saw two approaching me, intending to take me to hell, but an angel met them saying, "Don't be afraid," so they left me. My sister Hafsah narrated the dream to the Prophet (PBUH), who said, "What an excellent man `Abd Allah is. If he is praying at night, then let him pray more."

From that day until he met with Allah, he never stopped performing his night prayer, neither while staying in one place nor while traveling. He was frequently praying, reciting the Qur'aan, and praising Allah. Like his father, his tears rolled down abundantly whenever he heard a warning verse in the Qur'aan.

Ubaid lbn `Umar said: I was once reading to `Abd Allah lbn `Umar this verse: "How will it be for them when We bring from every nation a witness, and bring you to witness over them all? On that day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish the earth to be split open and swallow them, but they will never conceal GOD any of their saying " (4:41-42) Ibn `Umar began to cry till his beard was wet from his tears. One day he was sitting among his brothers reading "Woe to those who give insufficient measure, who when others measure for them they make full measure, but when they measure out, or weigh out for others, they give less than due. Do such not think that they shall be raised up on a Mighty Day? The Day when all mankind shall stand before the Lord of the Worlds" (83:1-6). Then he repeated again and again "The Day when all mankind shall stand before the Lord of the Worlds" while his tears were rolling down like heavy rain falls from the sky until he fell down because of his tremendous sorrow and crying.

His generosity, asceticism and piety all worked together in complete harmony to shape the most magnificent merits of that great man. He gave out abundantly because he was generous. He granted the fine halaal things because he was pious, never caring if his generosity left him poor because he was ascetic.

lbn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) was one of those who had high incomes. He was a successful, honest merchant for a greater part of his life, and his income from the treasury (Bait Al-Maal) was abundant. However, he never saved that money for himself, but always spent it copiously on the poor, the needy, and beggars.

Ayub Ibn Waa'il Ar-Rassiby tells us about one of his generous acts: One day lbn `Umar was granted 4,000 dirhams and a piece of velvet. The next day Ayub Ibn Waa'il saw him in the market buying his camel some fodder on credit. lbn Waa'il went to his house asking his close relatives, "Wasn't Abu `Abd Ar-Rahman (i.e. `Abd Allah Ibn `Umar granted 4,000 dirhams and a piece of velvet yesterday?" They said, "Yes." He then told them that he had seen him in the market buying fodder for his camel and could not find money for it. They told him, "He didn't go to sleep before distributing all of it, then he carried the velvet on his back and went out. When he returned it wasn't with him. We asked him about it, and he said, `I gave it to a poor person.

lbn Waa'il went out shaking his head until he entered the market. There he climbed to a higher ground and shouted to the people, "O merchants, what do you do with your life? Here is Ibn `Umar who's been granted 4,000 dirhams, so he distributes them, then the next morning he buys fodder for his camel on credit?!"

The one to whom Muhammad (PBUH) was tutor and `Umar his father must be a great man, deserving all that is great.

Ibn `Umar's generosity, asceticism, and piety, these three qualities demonstrate how sincere his imitation of the Prophetic model was and how sincere his worship.

He imitated the Prophet (PBUH) to the extent that he stood with his camel, where the Prophet had once stood saying, "A camel foot may stand over a camel foot." His respect, good behavior, and admiration towards his father reached also to a far extent. `Umar's personality forced his foes, his relatives, and, above all, his sons to pay him respect. I say, the one who belongs to that Prophet and that kind of father should never be a slave of money. Large amounts of money came to him but soon passed, just crossing his house at that moment.

His generosity was never a means of arrogance. He always dedicated himself to the poor and needy, rarely eating his meal alone: orphans and poor people were always present. He often blamed some of his sons when they invited the rich, and not the poor ones, to their banquets, thereupon saying, "You leave the hungry behind and invite the sated ones." The poor knew his tenderness, felt his kindness and sympathy, so they sat down across his path for him to take them to his house. When he saw them he was like a sweet scented flower surrounded by a drove of bees to suck its nectar.

* * *

Money in his hands was a slave, not a master, a means for necessities and not luxury. Money was not his alone. The poor had a right to it, a mutually corresponding right, with no privilege kept to himself. His self-denial helped him to reach such great generosity that he never stored, endeavored, or had a vivid interest toward the worldly life. On the contrary, he never wished to possess more than a gown to cover his body and just enough food to keep him alive.

Once a friend coming from khurasan presented him with a fine, delicate, handsome, embellished and decorated gown, saying to him, "I've brought you this gown from khurasan. I would be pleased to see you take off this rough gown and wear this nice one." lbn `Umar said, "Show it to me then. " He touched it asking, "Is it silk?" His friend said, "No, it's cotton." `Abd Allah looked at it for a while then pushed it away with his right hand saying, "No, I'm afraid to tempt myself. I'm afraid it would turn me into an arrogant, proud man. Allah dislikes the arrogant, proud ones."

On another day, a friend presented him with a container filled with something. Ibn `Umar asked him, "What's that?" He said, "Excellent medicine, which I brought you from Iraq!" lbn `Umar said, `What does it cure?" He said, "It digests food." Ibn `Umar smiled and said to his friend, "Digests food? I haven't satisfied my appetite for 40 years."

He who has not satisfied his appetite for 40 years has not curbed his appetite due to need or poverty, but rather due to self- denial and piety, and a trial to imitate the Prophet and his father.

He was afraid to hear on the Day of Judgment:"You have wasted all your good deeds for the enjoyment in the life of this world" (46:20). He realized that he was in this life just as a visitor or a passer-by. He described himself saying, "I haven't put a stone upon another (i.e. I haven't built anything) nor planted a palm tree since the Prophet's death."

Maimuun Ibn Muhraan once said, "I entered Ibn `Umar's house and tried to evaluate all that was inside such as the bed, the blanket, the mat and so on. Indeed, everything. I didn't find it worth even 100 dirhams."

That was not due to selfishness; he was very generous. But it was due to his asceticism, his disdain of luxury, and his adherence to his attitude of sincerity and piety.

Ibn `Umar lived long enough to witness the Umayyid period, when money became abundant, and land and estates spread, and a luxurious life was to be found in most dwellings, let alone most castles.

Despite all that, he stayed like a firm-rooted mountain, persistent and great, not slipping away from his paths and not abandoning his piety and asceticism. If life with its pleasure and prosperity - which he always escaped from - was mentioned, he said, "I've agreed with my companions upon a matter. I'm afraid if I change my stance I won't meet them again." Then he let the others know that he did not turn his back to the worldly life owing to inability, so he lifted his hands to the sky saying, "O Allah, You know that if it weren't for fear of You, we would have emulated our clan in the Quraish in this life."

* * *

Indeed, if it were not for his God-fearing self, he would have rivaled people in this life, and he would have been triumphant. He did not have to rival people. Life was striving towards him and chasing him with its tempting pleasure.

Is there any position more tempting than the caliph's? It was offered to Ibn `Umar several times, but he refused. He was threatened with death if he refused, but he continued his refusal and his shunning.

Al Hassan (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: When `Uthmaan Ibn `Affaan was killed it was said to `Abd Allah Ibn `Umar, "You are the people's master and the son of the people's master. Go out so that people swear to you the oath of allegiance." He said, "By Allah, if I could, I would never allow a drop of blood to be shed because of me." They said, You will either go out or we will kill you in your bed." He repeated his first statement. They tried to tempt him by frightening him, but all in vain!

After that, when time passed and civil strife became rampant, Ibn `Umar was always the hope of the people who urged him to accept the caliph's position. They were ready to swear to him the oath of allegiance, but he always and constantly refused.

His refusal may be seen as a reprehensible act. However, he had his logic and argument. After the murder of `Uthmaan (May Allah be pleased with him) the situation got worse and aggravated in a dangerous and alarming way.

Although he was very humble towards the position of the caliph, he was ready to accept its responsibilities and face its dangers, but only on the condition that he be voluntarily and willingly chosen by all Muslims. However, to force one single Muslim to swear the oath of allegiance by sword was what he opposed, and so he refused the post of caliph.

At that time, however, this was impossible. Despite his merits and the public consensus of love and respect for him, the expansion into the different regions, the long distances between them, and the disputes which furiously set fire between the Muslims and divided them into sects fighting each other made it impossible to reach such a consensus set by Ibn `Umar as a condition for his acceptance of the caliphate.

A man once met him and said, "No one is more evil in the whole Muslim community than you!" lbn `Umar said, `Why? By Allah, I've never shed their blood, or divided their community, or sowed dissension." The man replied, "If you had wished it, every single one would have agreed upon you." Ibn `Umar said, "I don't like to see it (the caliphate) being offered to me while one man says no and another one says yes.

The people still loved him even after events changed and the caliphate went to Mu'aawiyah, then to his son Yaziid, then to Mu'aawiyah II, son of Yaziid, who stepped down renouncing its pleasure after a couple of days in office.

Even on that day, when lbn `Umar was an old man, he was still the people's hope and the hope of the caliphate. Thus Marwaan went to him saying, "Give me your hand to swear to you the oath of allegiance. You're the master of the Arabs, and the son of their master. " Ibn `Umar asked, `What are we going to do with the people of the east?" Marwaan said, "Beat them until they swear the oath." lbn `Umar replied, "I don't like to be 70 years old and a man gets killed because of me."

Marwaan went away singing: I can see civil strife boiling in its pots and the kingdom after Abi Laila (i.e. Mu'aawiyah Ibn Yaziid) will end in the hands of the victorious.

* * *

This refusal to use force and the sword is what made lbn `Umar hold a position of neutrality and isolation during the armed civil strife between the parties of `Ally and Mu'aawiyah, reciting these solemn words:

To the one who says, !Come to prayer," I will respond.

And to the one who says, "Come to success," I will respond.
But to the one who says, "Come to kill your Muslim brother"
to take his money," I will say, "No."

But while remaining neutral and isolated he never turned to hypocrisy. How often did he confront Mu'aawiyah - while the latter was at the summit of his authority - with challenges which confused and hurt him till he threatened to kill him! and he was the one who said, "if there is only a tiny hair between me and the people it won't be torn."

One day Al-Hajaaj stood preaching and said, "lbn Az-Zubair has distorted the Book of Allah!" Hereupon Ibn Umar shouted in his face, "You are lying! You are lying! You are lying!" Al-Hajaaj was at a loss, struck by surprise.

Everything and everyone was terrified even by the mention of his name. He promised lbn `Umar the worst punishment, but Ibn `Umar waved his hand in A'-Hajaaj's face and replied, while people were dazzled, "If you do what you just promised, there is no wonder about it, for you are a foolish imposed ruler."

However, despite his strength and bravery, he remained cautious until his last days, never playing a role in the armed civil strife and refusing to lean towards either of the parties.

Abu Al-'Aaliyah Al Barraa' related: I was once walking behind Ibn `Umar without his realizing it. I heard him saying to himself, "They are holding their swords, raising them high, killing each other, and saying, `O Ibn `Umar, give us a hand!'?"

He was filled with sorrow and pain seeing Muslims blood shed by their own hands. As mentioned at the very beginning, he never awoke a sleeping Muslim. If he could have stopped the fight and saved the blood he would have done that, but the events were too powerful; therefore he kept to his house.

His heart was with `Ally (may Allah be pleased with him), and not only his heart but it seems his firm belief, based on a narration of what he said in his last days: "I never felt sorry about something that I missed except that I didn't fight on the side of `Ally against the unjust party."

However, when he refused to fight with Imam Ally, on whose side truth was, it was not because he sought a safe position, but rather because he refused the whole matter of the dispute and civil strife and refrained from a fight not one in which Muslims fight disbelievers, but one between Muslims who cut each other into pieces.

He clarified this when Naafi' asked him, "O Abu `Abd Rahman, you are the son of `Umar and the Companion of the Prophet (PBUH) and you are who you are. What hinders you from that matter?" He meant fighting on Ally's side. He replied, "What hinders me is that Allah has forbidden us to shed the blood of a Muslim. Allah the Mighty and Powerful said: "and continue fighting them until there is no more persecutions and GOD's Religion prevails "(2:193) and we did that. We fought the disbelievers until Allah's religion prevailed, but now, what is it we are fighting for? I fought when the idols were all over the Sacred House, from the corner to the door, until Allah cleared the land of the Arabs from it (idolatry). Should I now fight those who say, There is no god but Allah?" That was his logic, argument, and conviction.

Thus he did not refrain from fighting, nor abstain from taking part in battle to escape fighting, nor did he passively refuse to determine the outcome of the civil war within the Ummah of the faithful rather he refused to hold a sword in the face of a Muslim brother.

`Abd Allah lbn `Umar lived long and witnessed the days in which life "opened its gates to the Muslims." Money became more abundant, high positions more available, while ambition and desires spread. But his magnificent psychological capacities changed the rules of his time. He changed the era of ambition, money, and civil strife into an era of asceticism, humility, piety, and peace. He turned persistently to Allah and lived according to his worship, firm belief, and humbleness. Nothing whatsoever could affect his virtuous nature shaped and modeled by Islam during his early years.

The nature of life changed within the beginning of the Umayyid period. This change was inevitable. It was a period of expansion in every aspect of life, in the ambition of the state as well as the ambitions of individuals.

In the midst of the excitement of temptation and the agitation of an era lured by the idea of expansion with its pleasure and booty, stood Ibn `Umar with his merits, occupying himself with his excellent spiritual progress.

He gained from his great excellent life all that he desired, so that his contemporaries described him by saying, "Ibn Umar died while being like Umar in his merit."

Moreover, dazzled by the glitter of his merits, his contemporaries liked to compare him with his father `Umar saying, "`Umar lived in a time when similar ones could be found, and Ibn `Umar lived in a time when there was no one similar to him."

It is an exaggeration which may be forgiveable because Ibn `Umar deserved it. But as for `Umar, no one can be compared to him. It is absolutely out of the question that a similar one is to be found in any period of time.

* * *

In the year A.H. 73, the sun sank and the ship of eternity hoisted its sail towards the next life carrying the body of the last representative of the first days of the Revelation in Makkah and Al Madiinah: `Abd Allan Ibn `Umar Ibn Al-khattab. 1



------------

Footnote:

1. The last Companion to pass away was Anas Ibn Maalik (May Allah be pleased with him) who died in Al-Basra in the year A.H. 91 or 93.

(6)
SA'D IBN ABI WAQQAAS

The Lion's Claws!



A continuous stream of incoming news worried the Commander of the Faithful `Umar lbn Al-khattab. This news was about the deceitful attacks launched by the Persian forces against the Muslims at the Battle of Al-Jisr which cost the Muslims 4,000 lives in a single day and, moreover, about the Iraqis' renouncement of allegiance and their violation of agreed-upon convenants. Therefore, he decided to personally lead the Muslim troops in a decisive fight against Persia. In fact, he set out accompanied by some of his companions, leaving `Aliy lbn Abi Taalib (May Allah be pleased with him) behind to act as his deputy over Al-Madiinah.

However, he had hardly left Al-Madiinah when some of his companions found it wiser to ask him to return and appoint someone else for this task.

This view was adopted by `Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn `Awf, who saw it unwise to risk the caliph's life in such a way while Islam was going through its most decisive days.

`Umar ordered the Muslims to gather for public consultation. Congregational prayer was then announced and `Aliy Ibn Abi Taalib was sent for. He went with some Madinites to where `Umar and his companions were waiting. At last, they accepted `Abd Ar-Rahman lbn `Awfs opinion. The assembly decided that `Umar was to go back to Al-Madiinah and another Muslim leader be chosen to combat the Persians.

`Umar agreed to their decision, then asked his companions, "Whom do you see fit to be sent to Iraq?" They thought silently for a while. Then `Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn `Awf shouted, "I've found him!" `Umar said, "Who is it?" `Abd Ar-Rahman said, "The Lion's Claws: Sa'd Ibn Maalik Az-Zuhariy."

The Muslims supported his choice. `Umar then sent for Sa'd Ibn Maalik Az-Zuhariy, also known as Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqaas and appointed him governor of Iraq and Commander of the Army.

Who is that "Lion's Claws"? It is he who, whenever he turned to the Prophet while sitting among his Companions, was greeted cheerfully by the Prophet saying, "He's my maternal uncle."

Can anyone tell me who his uncle was? He was Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqaas His grandfather was Uhaib Ibn Manaaf, the paternal uncle of Aaminah, the mother of the Prophet (PBUH). He accepted Islam when he was 17 years old. He embraced Islam very early. When he talked about himself, he said, "I witnessed a day in which I was third in Islam," which means that he was the third to embrace Islam.

When the Prophet (PBUH) spoke about the One God and about the new religion whose teachings he was to spread all around, and before using Daar Al-Arqam as a refuge for himself and the Companions in those early days, Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqaas had already sworn the oath of allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH).

Historical and biographical sources inform us that the conversion of Abu Bakr was the reason for Sa'd's embracing Islam. He may have been one of those who announced their belief in Islam after Abu Bakr convinced them. This group included Uthmaan lbn `Afaan, Az-Zubair Ibn Al-'Awaam, Abd Ar- Rahman Ibn `Awf and Allah Ibn Ubaid Allah. However, that does not omit the possibility that his conversion had taken place secretly and he had believed even earlier.

Sa'd lbn Abi Waqqaas had many noble qualities which he could be proud of. However, he never arrogantly mentioned any of these merits, except for two great privileges. First, he was the first to throw a spear in the cause of Allah and the first to be struck by one. Second, he was the only one for whom the Prophet (PBUH) hoped his parents might be his ransom. That happened when the Prophet (PBUH) said to him on the day of Uhud, `Throw, Sa'd. May my father and mother be your ransom." Yes, indeed, he always mentioned proudly these two noble blessings. Thanking Allah, he always said, "By Allah, I am the first Arab to throw a spear in the cause of Allah."

Aliy lbn Abi Taalib said, "I have never heard the Prophet (PBUH) hoping that his parents may be made someone's ranson except Sa'd. On the day of Uhud I heard the Prophet (PBUH) say, "Throw Sa'd. May my father and mother be your ransom."

Sa'd was considered to be one of the most courageous Arab and Muslim horsemen. He possessed two weapons, his lance and his prayer. Whenever he pierced an enemy with his lance he hurt him; whenever he invoked Allah He answered. He and the Companions always saw that this was due to the Prophet's prayer in favor of him. One day, when the Prophet saw him doing something which made him glad and delighted, he made the following plea: "O Allah, make his spear hit unerringly and answer his prayer."

It was in this way that he became famous among his companions for his prayer, which was like a sharp sword. He knew that about himself; therefore, he never cursed a person. Sa'd would just trust Allah to do with him as He liked.

An example of that is what `Aamir Ibn Sa'd once narrated: Sa'd once saw a man insulting `Aliy, Talhah and Az-Zubair. He forbade him, but he didn't stop. Sa'd then said, " Then I will invoke Allah against you." The man said, "You're threatening me as if you were a Prophet."

Sa'd went away, performed his ablution and prayed two rak'ahs. Then he lifted his hands up and said, "O Allah, if You know that that man has insulted people who have already been granted by You that which is the best and his cursing of them has annoyed You, then make an example out of him." Only a short while had passed, when a stray camel went out of a house. Nothing could stay it till it entered a crowd as if searching for something. Then it attacked the man, and he fell between its legs. It continued to kick the man down till he died.

If this phenomenon was to prove something, then it proved primarily the purity of his soul, the honesty of his faith, and the depth of his sincerity. He always sought to support his piety by halaal food; with great insistence he always refused to take doubtful money.

Sa'd lived until he became one of the wealthiest Muslims. When he died, he left a great fortune behind. Although the abundance of money and its legitimacy are rarely to be found together, they certainly were combined in the hands of Sa'd. Thus Allah granted him a great amount of halaal money.

He (may Allah be pleased with him) was a great figure in the act of charity, as much as he was a great figure in the act of righteously choosing the sources of his money. His ability to collect purely halaal money was equal to, if not second to, his ability to donate it in the cause of Allah.

He became ill during the Farewell Pilgrimage, when he was accompanying the Prophet (PBUH), who visited him. Sa`d asked him (PBUH), "O Messenger of Allah, I own a lot of money and there is nobody to inherit from me except one daughter. May I contribute two thirds of my money as alms?" The Prophet (PBUH) said, "No." Then he said, "Then half of it?" The Prophet (PBUH) said, "No." Then he said, "Then a third?" The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Yes, and the third is too much. To leave your heirs wealthy is better than to leave them having to be dependent on someone. If you spend any money in the cause of Allah you'll be rewarded for it, even the bite you put in your wife's mouth."

Sa'd did not remain the father of one daughter because he was later on blessed with other children.

Sa'd used to cry a lot out of piety. Whenever he listened to the Prophet (PBUH) preaching or advising, his tears rolled down abundantly, so that his tears nearly filled his lap.

He was blessed with success and accomplishment. Once the Prophet (PBUH) was sitting with the Companions when his eyes gazed on the horizon while listening to what was being revealed secretly and whisperingly. Then he looked at his Companions' faces and said, "A man who belongs to Paradise will soon appear." The Companions turned in all directions trying to learn, who this successful person may be. After a while, Sa'd arrived.

Later on, Abd Allah Ibn Amr Ibn Al-'Aas asked him persistently to tell him the worship or deed which made him eligible for such a reward. Sa'd told him, "Nothing more than what we all do or worship, except that I don't carry any spite or hatred towards any Muslim."

This is the "Lion's Claws" as `Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn Awf had described him. This is the man whom `Umar chose for the great day of the Battle of Al- Qaadisiyah.

The Commander of the Faithful had insight into all his glittering merits when he chose him for the most difficult task confronting Islam and the Muslims:

- His prayers were heard and answered; if he asked Allah for victory, he would be granted it.

- His food was pure, his tongue was pure, his conscience was pure.

- He was a man who belonged to Paradise, as the Messenger (PBUH) prophesied.

- He was the horseman on the Day of Badr, the horseman on the Day of Uhud and in every battle he experienced with the Prophet (PBUH).

- And another thing, which `Umar would not forget nor underestimate the value and importance among the characteristics which should be present in anyone facing major tasks, was the strength and firmness of his faith.

-`Umar did not forget what happened between Sa'd and his mother when he converted to Islam and followed the Prophet (PBUH). At that time, all attempts to hinder and obstruct him from the cause of Allah had failed. His mother used a device which none doubted would conquer Sa'd's soul and drive him back to his people's idols. She announced her abstention from food and drink until Sa'd returned to his ancestors' and kin's religion. She actually carried on her hunger strike with death defying determination and had almost approached death.


Despite all that, Sa'd did not care. He would not sell his faith and religion for anything, even if it were his mother's life. Hoping that his heart would yield upon seeing her, some relatives took Sa'd to his mother, who was almost dying.

Sa'd went to her. The scene was so impressive, even mountain rocks would yield and melt. However, his belief in Allah and His Messenger proved to be stronger than rocks and iron. He came with his face nearer and shouted so that she could hear him. "You know, by Allah, mother, if you had 100 souls coming out one after the other I wouldn't abandon my faith in return for anything. Then eat if you like or don't eat!"

His mother changed her mind. A divine revelation greeted Sa`d's position and supported it. "But if they (both) strive with you to make you join in worship with Me others that of which you have no knowledge, then obey them not..." (31 : 15).

Is he not, indeed, the Lion in his claws? Therefore the Commander of the Faithful should hand him the standard of Al Qaadisiyah and throw him against the Persians, who recruited more than 100,000 trained warriors equipped with the most dangerous weapons the earth had ever witnessed, led on that day by the most intelligent and cunning warlords.

Indeed, all those horrible legions, will Sa'd meet with his mere 30,000 warriors, equipped only with spears, nothing more. However, their hearts were filled with the will of the new faith with all it represents: belief, vigor, and a rare, dazzling, longing aspiration for death and martyrdom.

The two armies met in combat. No, they did not meet yet. Sa'd is still there waiting for the advice and instructions of the Commander of the Faithful. Finally `Umar's message arrives, ordering him to move towards Al-Qaadisiyah, the gate to Persia. `Umar's words represented light and guidance: O Sa'd lbn Wahiib, do not be deluded if it is said, You are the Prophet's uncle and his Companion. Know that there is no relationship between Allah and anyone except through obedience to Him. All people, the noble ones as well as the lowly, all are equal in front of Allah. Allah is their God and they are His servants. The relationship between them is one of rivalry for preference by means of their well being, whereas they can only get what is in Allah's hands by means of obedience to Him. Remember the Prophet's (PBUH) positions which he stuck to from the time he was sent to us until he left our world. Hold to them; it is an order.
Then he said to him, Send me information about all your circumstances. Where have you reached and how? What is your enemy's position in respect to yours? Let your messages make me as if I am actually seeing you.
Sa'd wrote to the Commander of the Faithful describing everything. He almost showed him each soldier's position and state. Sa'd reached Al-Qaadissiyah. The Persians gathered their army as they never had before and appointed as their leader one of the most famous and dangerous commanders, Rustum.

Sa'd writes to Umar the Commander of the Faithful, who replies: Don't be upset by what you hear from them, nor what they show you. Seek Allah's help and put your trust in Him. Send them people of insight, good judgment, and patience to call him to follow Allah's path, and write me every day.

Sa'd writes again to the Commander of the Faithful saying, Rustum camped with his troops at Saabaat. He has brought his horses and elephants and marched towards us. Umar replies to calm him.

Sa'd is a smart, brave horseman, the Prophet's uncle, one of the first converts, and hero of different wars and raids. No sword or lance of his ever failed to reach its target. He stands at the head of his army in one of the greatest historical battles as if he were an ordinary soldier, not deluded by power nor acting arrogantly because of leadership. His self-esteem could tempt him to rely completely on his own capacities; but despite that he always turns to the Commander of the Faithful in Al-Madiinah. Although miles and miles separate them, he sends him a message each day, exchanging viewpoints, advice, and opinions while the great battle is still to come.

That was because Sa'd knew that `Umar in Al-Madiinah never decided alone, but consulted the Muslims and the Prophet's Companions around him. Despite the war circumstances, Sa'd did not want to deprive himself or his army of the blessings and benefits of public consultation, especially if `Umar, a man with great inspiration, was among the consultants.

* * *
Sa'd carried out `Umar's will and sent Rustum, the Persian leader, a number of his companions to call him to follow Islam and Allah's path.

The conversation between them and the Persian leader lasted long. Finally they ended their talk by telling him, "Allah has chosen us to turn whom He chooses of His creatures from paganism to monotheism, from the narrowness of life to its freedom, from ruler's injustice to Islam's fairness. Whoever accepts our offer, we will leave him alone and will refrain from hurting him. Whoever fights us, we will fight him until we fulfil Allan's promise."

Then Rustum asked, "What is Allah's promise which He made to you?"

The Companion answered, "Paradise for our martyrs and victory for the living ones."

The delegation returned to Sa'd, leader of the Muslims, to tell him that it was war. Sa'd's eyes were hereby filled with tears. He had wished so much that the war would be delayed for some time. On that day his illness became more severe, and he had to suffer its heavy burden. The abscesses spread all over his body, to the extent that he could not sit, let alone ride his horse to take part in an extremely fierce and violent battle.

If the war had just been waged before his illness or had it been delayed till he was cured and healthy again, then he would have proved himself brave. But now. . . No, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) had taught them never to say "If" because "If' means weakness. A strong believer is neither helpless nor weak. Thereupon The Lion's Claws stood up to preach to his soldiers. He began his speech citing the following glorious verse: "And We have written in the Zaboor (given to David) after the Torahe (given to Moses): "My righteous servants shall inherit the earth" (21: 105).

Having finished his speech Sa'd led his troops in the Dhuhr Prayer, then turned towards his soldiers and proclaimed four times, "Allahu akbar (Allah is the Greatest)! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!"

The echo was to be heard all over the universe. Then he stretched out his arm like an unerring arrow pointing to the enemy and shouted to his soldiers, "Let's start this battle accompanied by Allah's blessings."

With pains hard to bear, he ascended to the balcony of his residence, which he used as a dwelling and a headquarters.

On the balcony he sat on a pillow and leaned upon his chest. His door was left open, which meant that by the least Persian attack against his residence he would be captured, alive or dead, but he was far from being afraid or terrified.

His abscesses were bleeding and hurting him severely, but he had something else to think about. Sitting on his balcony, he was shouting, calling, and commanding. First to those in one flank to step forward towards the right, and then to those in another flank to fill out the empty spot on the left. . . Mughiirah, look forward! Jurair follow them! Nu'maan, hit! Ash`ath attack and you also, Qa'qaa'. Forward, forward, Prophet's Companions!

His determined and hopeful sound turned each individual soldier into an army of its own. The Persian soldiers fell like flies and with them fell the worship of fire and paganism. After seeing the death of their commander and their best soldiers, the defeated, scattered remnants rapidly escaped.

The Muslim army pursued them until they reached Nahawind then Al-Madaa'in. There they fought to carry with them at the end the emperor's throne and crown as war booty.

* * *

At the Battle of Al-Madaa'in, Sa'd could stand the test and prove himself brave. The Battle of Al-Madaa'in took place two years after the Battle of Al-Qaadissiyah, a period during which a lot of continuous armed dashes took place between the Muslims and the Persians. Finally, the scattered remnants of the Persian army gathered at Al-Madaa'in itself, ready for a decisive and final scene.

Sa'd realized that time was on his enemy's side; therefore, he decided to deprive them of this advantage, but how could he do that? The Tigris River in its flood season stood in the middle between him and Al-Madaa'in.

Thereby, an event took place by which Sa'd succeeded to prove that he indeed deserved `Abd Ar-Rahman lbn `Awfs description of him as the Lion's Claws. Sa'd's faith and determination stood glittering in the face of danger, mocking and making fun of the impossible with admirable bravery.

Sa`d ordered his army to cross the Tigris River. He ordered them to search for a safe, secure ford in the river which would enable their crossing. Finally they found a place, but the fording was not free of extreme risks.

Before the army started to cross, the leader Sa'd wisely realized the necessity to safeguard their arrival spot on the opposite bank, where the enemy was camping. Therefore he prepared two detachments, the first of which was called The Detachment of Terror. Its leader was `Aasim Ibn `Amr. The second was called The Detachment of the Dumb, led by Al Qa'qaa' lbn `Amr.

The soldiers of these two detachments had to encounter many horrible situations to clear a safe place on the opposite bank for the army which would subsequently cross. They fulfilled their task with amazing skill. Sa'd's success on that day will always be a cause for the perplexity of historians.

Sa'd himself was amazed by his own success. It also amazed his companion and escort Salmaan Al-Faarisiy, who shook his head in astonishment and said, " Islam is indeed new. By Allah, seas have been subdued by them and the land has been subdued by them. In the name of the One in Whose hands Salmaan's soul lies, they will leave it in a group, as they entered it in a group."

Indeed, that is exactly what happened. As they penetrated the Tigris River in a group, so they left it in a group without losing one single soldier, nor annoying a single horse.

It happened that a wooden cup fell from one of the warriors, who felt sorry to be the only one to lose something. He called his companions to help to get it out and a high wave pushed it to where someone could pick it up!

Some historical sources described the magnificence of such a scene as the fording of the river: Sa'd ordered the Muslims to say, "Allah is enough for us and He is the best to trust in." Then he penetrated the Tigris with his horse, and the people penetrated behind him. No one stayed behind. They walked as if they were walking on a land surface until they filled the whole area between the two banks. The water surface could not seen due to the numerous troops of cavalry and infantry. People went on talking while walking in the water as if they were on land, as a result of their feeling of security and tranquility, their trust in Allah's judgment and His victory, His promise and His support.

When Umar appointed him to be Iraq's governor, he set out to build Kufa and established the foundations of Islam in wide broad lands.

One day the inhabitants of Kufa complained to the Commander of the Faithful about Sa'd. They lost control over their flimsy, restless temper and made a funny claim saying, "Sa'd can't pray well." Sa`d laughed loudly and said, "By Allah, I prayed with them exactly as the Prophet's prayer was. I prolonged the first two rak`ahs and shortened the last two."

When `Umar ordered him back to Al-Madiinah, he did not get annoyed. On the contrary, he responded to `Umar's call immediately. After some time, `Umar determined to return him to Kufa, but Sa'd responded laughing, "Do You order me to return to people who claim that I don't perform my prayers well?" He preferred to stay in Al-Madiinah.

When the Commander of the Faithful `Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) was attacked, he chose six of the Prophet's Companions to be responsible for choosing the next caliph. `Umar said that he chose six of those with whom the Prophet was pleased before he died. Sa'd lbn Abi Waqqaas was one of them.

But it seems from `Umar's last words that if he would have chosen one of the Companions for the caliphate, it would have been Sa'd. He said to his companions, advising and commending, "If Sa'd is to become caliph, that's good; but if someone else is to be caliph, then he has to seek Sa'd's help."


* * *

Sa'd lived long. He secluded himself during the period of civil strife following the death of the third Caliph, `Uthmaan. Furthermore, he ordered his whole family and children not to tell him any news about what was happening.

Once, everyone was anxious to know his position, when his nephew Haashim Ibn `Utbah lbn Abi Waqqaas said to him, "O uncle, here are 100,000 swords which consider you the more entitled to that matter (i.e. the caliphate)." Sa'd responded, "I want out of the 100,000 swords, just one sword that if it hits a believer it won't do anything, but if it hits a disbeliever it cuts through."

His nephew realized what he meant and left him in his isolation and security.

When the dispute ended in favor of Mu'aawiyah, who took over the reins of government, he asked Sa'd, `Why didn't you fight with us?" He answered, "A dark cloud passed over me. I told it, Shoo! Shoo! I stopped my riding camel until it passed away." Mu'aawiyah said, "Shoo! Shoo can not be found in the glorious Book of Allah, but Allah said "And if two parties or groups among the believers fall into fighting, then make peace between them both, but if one of them rebels against the other, then fight you (all) against the one that which rebels till it complies with the Command of Allah" (49 : 9). And you did not take anyone's side. You weren't with the unjust against the just, nor were you with the just against the unjust." Hereupon Sa'd responded, "I wouldn't have fought a man (he meant `Aliy Ibn Abi Taalib) to whom the Prophet (PBUH) said, "You have towards me the same position Haaruun (Aaron) had towards Muusaa (Moses), except that there isn't any Prophet coming after me."

* * *

One day in A.H. 54, having exceeded the age of 80, he was at his house in Al-`Aqiiq preparing to meet Allah.

His son spoke of his final moments: His head was upon my lap, he was passing away. I cried, but he said, "What makes You cry, my son? Allah will never torture me. I belong to Paradise!"

The firmness of his faith could not be weakened even by the quaking fear of death. The Prophet (PBUH) had passed him the good news and he believed firmly in the Prophet's honesty; therefore what was there to be afraid of? "Allah will never torture me. I belong to Paradise!"

However, he wanted to meet Allah carrying the most magnificent and most wonderful memory, a memory which joined him with his religion and his Prophet (PBUH). Therefore, he pointed to his coffer. They opened it and got out an old, torn, threadbare gown. He ordered his kin to shroud him in that gown saying, "I met the disbelievers at the Battle of Badr wearing it. I've saved it for this day."

Indeed, this threadbare gown was not just a gown. It was the banner waving over a long great life. Our hero lived it honestly, bravely, and faithfully.

The body of the last Muhaajiruun was buried in Al- Madiinah, safely laid beside a group of great Companions who preceded him to Allah. Their exhausted bodies had finally found a secure shelter in the ground of Al-Baqii`.

* * *

Farewell, Sa'd. Farewell Sa'd, the hero of Al-Qaadissiyah, conquerer of Al-Madaa'in, extinguisher forever of the worshipped fire of Persia!

(7)
SUHAIB IBN SINAAN

O Abu Yahia! A Successful Purchase!




He was born surrounded by comfort and luxury. His father was the governor of Al Uballah and its ruler on behalf of the Persian king, and was one of the Arabs who emigrated to Iraq long before Islam. In his palace on the bank of Euphrates, next to Mosul, the child lived happily and comfortably.

One day the country was attacked by the Romans (Byzantines) who captured a large number and enslaved the boy Suhaib lbn Sinaan.

He was taken by slave traders until finally his long journey ended in Makkah. There he was sold to `Abd Allah lbn Jud'aan, after having spent his childhood and most of his youth in Roman lands, where he adopted their language and dialect.

His master was so amazed by his intelligence, energy, and sincerity that he emancipated him and set him free, giving him the privilege to trade with him.

One day.. . let his friend `Ammaar Ibn Yaasir tell us what happened on that day: I met Suhaib lbn Sinaan in front of the door of Daar Al-Arqam when the Prophet (PBUH) was there. I asked, "What do you want?" He answered, "And what do you want?" I said, "I want to meet Muhammad (PBUH) to hear what he is saying." He said, "I want the same." We both entered and met the Prophet (PBUH), who invited us to embrace Islam, and we converted. We stayed as we were till evening. Secretly he went out.

Thereupon, Suhaib got to know his path to Daar Al- Arqam. He got to know his path to guidance and light, but also to difficult sacrifice and great redemption. Entering through that wooden door, which separated Daar Al-Arqam and what was inside from the outer world, was not just crossing a threshold, but crossing of a whole world of limitations. An old world, with all that represented it - religion, manners, customs and life - crossing it towards a new world with all that represented it - religion, manners, customs, and life. Crossing the threshold of Daar Al-Arqam, a threshold not wider than one foot, meant, in reality, to cross an ocean of terror, wide and expanding. Stepping over such an obstacle, such a threshold, meant the beginning of an era full of great responsibilities. As for the poor, the stranger, the enslaved, stepping over Daar Al-Arqam's threshold meant exceptional, extraordinary sacrifices. Suhaib, our hero, was a stranger; Ammar Ibn Yaasir, his friend whom he met in front of the door, was a poor man. Why did they go voluntarily to face terror and, moreover, do their best when they me with it in combat?

It was the call of faith, which could not be resisted. It was the good character of Muhammad (PBUH), the scent of which filled the hearts of the reverent with love and guidance. It was his new, shining magnificence. Dazzling minds were fed up with the old, its misguidance and bankruptcy. Above all, it was Allah's mercy, bestowed upon whomever He wishes, His guidance and protection bestowed on whomever turns to Him.

* * *


Suhaib holds a position in the ranks of the faithful. He held a great and high position among the persecuted and tortured. He held a high position among the generous and self -sacrificing.

He frankly described his great loyalty to his responsibilities as a Muslim who had pledged allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH) and walked under Islam's standard: I was present in every situation witnessed by the Prophet (PBUH). I was present at every pledge called by him. I was present in every detachment organized by him. The Prophet (PBUH) never took part in a raid, at the beginning of the period or the end, without my being on his right or left. Whenever the Muslims feared a danger facing them, I was there in the front, and whenever they feared it in the rear, I was there at the back. I never let the Prophet (PBUH) stay in a position between me and the foe until he (PBUH) met Allah.

It was a dazzling image of extraordinary faith and great loyalty. Ever since the first day he received Allah's light and put his hand into the Prophet's, Suhaib (May Allah be pleased with him and with all his Companions) was imbued with such outstanding faith.

From that day, his relationship towards people and the world, let alone himself, acquired a new dimension.

From that day, his character turned into a firm, humble and devoted one, subduing events and braving various types of horror.

He went on - as already mentioned - bravely and courageously shouldering all his responsibilities, never lagging behind, whenever there was danger or a situation to be encountered. His passionate love and ardent desire were not directed towards gains and spoils but rather towards sacrifice and ransom; not towards the greed of life but rather towards the passion of danger and self- sacrifice.

He began the days of his noble redemption and great loyalty with the day of his Hijrah. On that day he abandoned all his wealth, all his gold which he had gained by successful trade during the long years he lived in Makkah. He abandoned all his fortune, all that he owned in a split second, the glory of which was never stained by doubt or retreat.

When the Prophet (PBUH) intended to emigrate, Suhaib knew that and he was supposed to be the third one of the three the Prophet, Abu Bakr, and Suhaib.

However, the Quraish decided to prevent the Prophet's emigration. Suhaib fell into one of their traps and was thereby hindered for some time from emigrating, while the Prophet (PBUH) and his companion set out accompanied by Allah's blessing.

Suhaib disputed, talked, and argued until he got rid of his persecutors. He mounted his camel and sped across the desert. However, the Quraish sent its hunters to follow him. When they reached him, Suhaib had hardly seen them before facing them and shouting from a near distance, "O people of Quraish, you know that I am the best marksman. By Allah, you cannot reach me before I shoot each of my arrows with my bow, then I will strike you with my sword until it falls down. Come on, if you like to try. Or if you like, I will tell you where my money is, and so leave me alone."

They agreed to take his money saying, "You came to us as a poor wretch. Your money increased in our land and among us you claimed high rank and now you want to escape together with your money?"

He guided them to the place where he had hidden his fortune, then they left him alone and returned to Makkah.

Strangely enough, they believed his words without doubt, without precaution. They did not ask him to prove his honesty, nor did they ask him to swear. This situation granted him a great honor, which he deserves as an honest and truthful man.

Alone but happy, Suhaib continued his journey until he reached the Prophet (PBUH) at Qubaa'.

When Suhaib came into view, the Prophet (PBUH) was sitting surrounded by his Companions. As soon as the Prophet (PBUH) saw him, he called to him cheerfully, "O Abu Yahia! A profitable sale! A profitable sale!"


Thereupon, the glorious verse was revealed: "And of mankind is he who sell himself, seeking the pleasure of Allah And Allah is full of kindness to (His) slaves "(2:201).

Indeed, Suhaib had paid all his fortune - the fortune he spent all his youth to gather - in return for his faithful soul. He never felt it was an unjust bargain. Money, gold, the whole world, nothing of that sort was worthwhile as long as he kept his faith, the sovereignty of his conscience, and the determination of his fate.

The Prophet loved him very much. Besides being pious and God-fearing, he was a cheerful and jovial person. The Prophet (PBUH) saw him once eating dates when there was an inflammation in one of his eyes. The Prophet (PBUH) asked him cheerfully, "Do you eat dates when there is inflammation in one of your eyes?" He answered, "What's wrong with that? I eat them with the other eye!" He was a generous donor, spending all his stipend from the treasury (Bait Al-Maal) in the cause of Allah, helping the needy, aiding the sorrowful, feeding the needy, the orphans, and the captives with the best food.

His extreme generosity attracted the attention of `Umar, who said to him, "I can see you feeding people too much, to the extent that you are spending lavishly." Suhaib answered him, "I've heard the Prophet (PBUH) say, "The best of you is the one who feeds (others)."

* * *

The life of Suhaib was filled with an abandance of merits and great situations. To be chosen by `Umar lbn Al-khattab to lead the prayer was another merit to be added.

When the Commander of the Faithful was attacked while leading the Muslims in Fajr Prayer and felt his end was coming nearer and nearer, he began to advise his companions. His last words were, "Let Suhaib lead people in prayer".

On that day Umar chose six of the Companions and entrusted them with the choice of the new caliph. The Caliph of the Muslims was the one who led the prayers. In those days following the death of the Commander of the Faithful until the new caliph was chosen, who was to lead the Muslims in prayer?

`Umar would slow down a thousand times before choosing someone especially in these moments, while his pure soul was passing away to meet Allah. If he chose, then there was no one more eligible than the chosen. He chose Suhaib.

He chose him to lead the Muslims in prayer until the next caliph came to carry out his duties.

He chose him, despite the Roman accent obvious in his language. This choice was a divine blessing upon the pious worshipper Suhaib Ibn Sinaan.

(8)
MU'AADH IBN JABAL

The Most Learned of Halaal and Haraam




Among the seventy-man delegation of the Ansaar who took the oath of allegiance to the Prophet in the Second Allegiance of `Aqabah sat a young man with a bright face, graceful eyes, and a radiant smile. When he was silent, he attracted attention with his profound peacefulness and devoutness. On the other hand, when he talked, he held his people spellbound. This young man was Mu'aadh lbn Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him). He belonged to the Ansaar, and he was among the foremost believers who gave the second oath of allegiance to the Prophet. Naturally, a man of such precedence, faith, and certainty would not miss for the world a battle or an expedition. His uppermost quality was his knowledge of fiqh (jurisprudence) the practical aspect of Muhammad's message. He reached the apex in knowledge and fiqh, to the extent that made the Prophet (PBUH) say, "The most learned man of my nation in halaal and haraam is Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal."

He resembled `Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab in his enlightenment, courage and intelligence. When the Prophet sent him to Yemen, he asked him, "How will you give a judgment or settle a dispute?" Mu'aadh answered; "I will refer to the Qur'aan." The Prophet then asked, "What will you do if you do not find the decree you are looking for in the Qur'aan?" Mu'aadh answered, "I will refer to the Prophet's Sunnah." The Prophet asked, "But what will you do if you do not find a decree even in the Sunnah?" Mu'aadh readily answered, "I will be judge between mankind by resorting to juristic reasoning (ijtihaad) to the best of my power." Now, Mu'aadh's staunch commitment to Allah's Book and the Prophet's Sunnah does not mean that he closed his mind to the countless and endless hidden or equivocal facts that await someone to unravel and adjudicate.

Perhaps both Mu'aadh's ability in juristic reasoning and the courageous usage of his intelligence enabled him to master the fiqh, excelling all other scholars. The Prophet justifiably described Mu'aadh as "the most learned man of my nation in haaal and haraam."

History portrays him as a man of remarkably enlightened, resolute, and decisive mind. For instance, `Aaez Allah lbn Abd Allah narrated that one day he entered the mosque with the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) at the dawn of `Umar's caliphate. Then he sat among more than thirty men. Let us hear him narrate the story: "I sat with a group of more than thirty men. They were recalling a hadith of the Prophet (PBUH). In this ring sat a dark, swarthy young man who had a sweet voice and a radiant face. Whenever they disputed about a hidden or ambiguous meaning in the hadith, they at once sought his legal instruction or judgment. He seldom, if ever, spoke unless he was asked. When their meeting was over, I approached him and asked him, "Who are you, O Allah's Slave?" He answered, "I am Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal." So I instantly felt dose to him.

Also, Shahr Ibn Hawshab said, "Whenever Mu'aadh lbn Jabal was present when the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) were holding a meeting, they looked at him with reverence".

`Umar Ibn Al-khattaab, the Commander of the Faithful, often consulted him. It seemed that Mu'aadh had a highly disciplined mind and a captivating and convincing logic that moved peacefully and knowledgeably. When we look at his historical background, we will always see him at the center of attention. He always sat there surrounded by people. He always maintained a discrete silence that was only broken whenever people were anxious to hear his judgment and whenever they were in dispute. When he spoke he looked, as one of his contemporaries described, "as if light and pearls were emanating from his mouth rather than speech." He reached his high rank in knowledge and reverence when the Prophet (PBUH) was alive and maintained it after his death, notwithstanding his youth, for Mu'aadh died during `Umar's caliphate at the age of thirty-three years.

Mu'aadh was generous, magnanimous, well-mannered, and good-natured. If anyone asked him for money, he would readily and glady give it to him. His generosity made him spend all his money on charity and aid. When the Prophet (PBUH) died, Mu'aadh was still in Yemen, where the Prophet (PBUH) had sent him with the task of teaching Muslims their religion and fiqh.

When Mu'aadh returned from Yemen during Abu Bakr's caliphate, `Umar lbn Al khttaab was informed that Mu'aadh become wealthy, and he suggested to Abu Bakr that the community should have half of Mu'aadh's wealth. `Umar did not waste much time as he rushed to Mu'aadh's house and told him about what he and Abu Bakr had agreed on. Mu'aadh was an honest and trustworthy man. The fact that he had made a fortune did not make him vulnerable to suspicion or sin; therefore, he turned down `Umar's suggestion and refuted his viewpoint. Finally, `Umar left him. The next day, Mu'aadh hurried towards `Umar's house and no sooner had he laid his eyes on him than he hugged him. His tears flowed as he said, " Last night, I saw in my dream that I was crossing deep water. I nearly drowned were it not for your help, `Umar." Afterwards, they both went to Abu Bakr's presence where Mu'aadh asked him to take half his money, but Abu Bakr said, " No, I will take nothing from you." `Umar glanced at Mu'aadh and said, "Now it is halaal and blessed."

First, the pious Abu Bakr would not take from Mu'aadh one penny unless he was absolutely positive that he had earned it in a lawful halaal way. Second, `Umar was not trying to accuse or cast suspicion on Mu'aadh. In the final analysis, this epitomizes the era of ideals which was filled with people who were in perpetual competition to climb their way up to the apex of perfection allowed to human beings. Thus some of them soared up to the sky with their good deeds. Some were foremost and the rest followed a middle course. Yet, all of them were travelers on a caravan of goodness.

* * *

After a while, Mu'aadh emigrated to Syria, where he lived among its people and the expatriates as a teacher and a scholar of fiqh. When Abu Ubaidah, the governor of Syria and a dose friend of Mu'aadh, died, the Commander of the Faithful `Umar Ibn Al khattaab assigned Mu'aadh to take his place as a ruler. Only a few months had elapsed after his taking over when he died, humble and repentant to Allah. `Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) used to say, "If I were to grant Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal succession and Allah asked me, `Why did you make him your successor?' I would readily answer, `I heard Your Prophet (PBUH) say that when those who have knowledge stand before Almighty Allah, Mu'aadh will be among them."

The succession that `Umar meant here was not merely over a country or a governorship but over all the Muslim lands. When `Umar was asked before his death, "If you choose your successor now, we will give him our allegiance," he answered, "If Mu'aadh lbn Jabal were alive and I made him my successor to the caliphate, then I died and met Allah Who asked me, `Whom did you assign to rule Muhammad's nation?' I would answer, `I assigned Mu'aadh lbn Jabal to rule it after I heard the Prophet (PBUH) say Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal is the Imam of those who have knowledge of Judgment Day."

The Prophet (PBUH) said one day, "O Mu'aadh, by Allah I love you dearly, so do not forget to recite after every prayer, `Allah help me in remembering You, in offering thanks to You, and in worshiping You properly."'

Indeed, the Prophet (PBUH) supplicated Allah to help him to remember Him. The Prophet (PBUH) persevered in stressing this great fact that tells people that authority belongs to Allah, He has the power over all, and there is no power or any might except with His permission, for He is Most High and Most Great.

Definitely, Mu'aadh had learned and fully grasped this fact.

He did his utmost to cherish and apply this fundamental basis in his life from that moment onwards.

One day, the Prophet (PBUH) ran into him so he asked him, "How are you this morning Mu'aadh?" He answered, "This morning I woke up as a true believer." The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Every truth has its manifestations, so what are the manifestations of your belief?" Mu'aadh readily answered, "I have never woken up without believing that I might die before nightfall. I have never slept without believing that I might die before the morning and have never taken a step without believing that I might die before taking the next. It always seems to me that I can see each nation humbled to its knees and each nation called to its record of deeds. It always seems to me that I can see the dwellers of Paradise, wherein are delights everlasting, and the dwellers of Hell, wherein they are in disgracing torment." The Prophet (PBUH ) commented, "Now you know, so stick to the truth as long as you live." Indeed Mu'aadh had submitted himself and his destiny to Allah, for Allah was all that mattered to him. It was just that Ibn Mas'uud described him as "an ummah, a leader having all the good and righteous qualities, obedient to Allah and haniifan, who worshipped none but Allah. We used to liken him to Ibraahiim (Abraham) (PBUH)."





* * *




Mu'aadh advocated knowledge and the remembrance of Allah. Moreover, he invited mankind to seek the useful and true knowledge saying, "I warn you against the deviation of wise men. You will know the truth when you see it, for it has a distinctive light!" He believed that worship was an end and a means to reach justice. One day a Muslim asked him, "Teach me." Mu'aadh asked him, "Will you obey me if I teach you?" The man answered, "I will not disobey you in anything." He said then, "Fast, then break your fast. Pray during the night but you must get some sleep. Earn what is halaal and what is rightfully yours and do not earn sin. Die as a true Muslim. Finally, I warn you against the supplication of those who have been wronged or oppressed." He believed that education meant knowledge and practice; therefore, he said, "Learn whatever you like to learn, yet Allah will not make your learning worthwhile unless you practice what you have learned." He believed that belief and remembrance of Allah meant the perpetual calling to mind of His greatness and the perpetual calling of oneself to account for deeds before Allah does so.

Al-Aswad lbn Hilaal reported, As we were walking with Mu'aadh one day, he said, "Let us sit down for a while to meditate on Allah."

Perhaps the reason behind his discrete silence was his unremitting meditation and contemplation.

Likewise, his once telling the Prophet (PBUH) that he nevertook a step without believing that he might die before taking the next was due to his engrossment in the remembrance of Allah and in calling himself to account for his deeds.

At the end, death summoned Mu'aadh. It was time to meet Allah. When the stupor of death creeps upon someone, his subconscious takes the reins and spurs the tongue - if it is able to - to disclose the reality of all mankind in concise words that summarize his life story. In those blessed moments, Mu'aadh faintly uttered great words that revealed a great believer, for he gazed up into the sky and humbly supplicated Allah, the Most Merciful, saying, "Allah I used to fear You but now I implore You. Allah, You know that I did not devote my life to travel in the lands or to earn money or property but rather consecrated it to knowledge, faith and obedience, notwithstanding intense heat or hardships."

He stretched his hand as if he were shaking death and went into a coma. His last words were, "O Death, welcome! You are a long-awaited beloved.

At last Mu'aadh ascended to Allah's Paradise.

(9)
AL- MIQDAAD IBN `AMR

The First Muslim Cavalryman




His companions said about him, "The first cavalryman to strive in the way of Allah was Al-Miqdaad Ibn Al-Aswad, our hero, and Al-Miqdaad lbn `Amr was one and the same person."

The story behind this was that Al-Miqdaad Ibn `Amr was in alliance with Al-Aswad lbn Abd Yaghuuth, who therefore adopted Al-Miqdaad. Thus, he was called Al-Miqdaad lbn Al-Aswad until the glorious verse which abrogated adoption descended, and he restored his father's name, `Amr Ibn Saad. Al-Miqdaad was one of the foremost Muslims and the seventh of the seven men who announced their Islam openly and in public. Therefore, he had his share of the Quraish's abuse and atrocities. He tolerated them with the courageousness and satisfaction of a devoted disciple.

His attitude during the Battle of Badr will retain its immortal glory. It was an honorable attitude that impressed all those who witnessed it and made each and every one of them wish it were he who had adopted such an attitude. `Abd Allah Ibn Mas'uud, the Companion of Allah's Prophet (PBUH) said, "I have seen Al Miqdaad (may Allah be pleased with him) maintain a firm attitude and I was overtaken by a vicarious feeling to be in his place. This feeling enveloped me to the extent that I wished more than anything in the world that it would come true."

The Day of Badr was a crucial one as the Quraish marched with all their might, stubborn persistence, and haughtiness against the Muslims. On that day, the Muslims were not only few, but also untried and inexperienced in jihaad. Their hearts had not been tested in action. Besides, the Battle of Badr was the dawn of their conquests. The Prophet stood there to strengthen the faith of his Companions and test their combat readiness to break through the enemy infantry and cavalry.

Afterwards, the Prophet (PBUH) began to consult them on war tactics. Surely, the Prophet's Companions knew that when he asked their opinion, he demanded their individual free and courageous expression, even if it happened to contradict the majority. He who expressed his opinion would not be reproached or criticized.

Al-Miqdaad was afraid lest one of the Muslims should have reservations about the imminent battle. Therefore, he was careful to have precedence in speech. His concise and decisive words coined the slogan of the battle, yet before he had the chance to open his mouth, Abu Bakr As-siddiiq started talking and by the time he finished his words, Al-Miqdaad's apprehensions had vanished, for Abu Bakr spoke with remarkable eloquence. `Umar Ibn Al-khattaab spoke next and followed suit. Finally Al-Miqdaad stepped forward and said, "O Prophet of Allah, go ahead with what Allah has inspired you to do. We will stand by you. By Allah, we will never say as the Children of Israel said, `So go you and your Lord and fight you two, we are sitting right here.' Instead, we will say, `Go you and your Lord and we will fight with you.' By Allah, Who has sent you with the truth, if you take us to the end of the world, we will tolerate all hardships until we reach it with you. We will fight on your left, your right, in front of you and behind you until Allah bestows victory on you." His decisive words were like bullets that made the righteous believers with them fired up with enthusiasm.

The Prophet's face brightened as he uttered a pious supplication for Al-Miqdaad, whose words were so strong and decisive that they drew the pattern that would be followed by anyone who spoke afterwards. Indeed, Al-Miqdaad's words left their impact on the hearts of the believers. Consequently, S'ad Ibn Mu'aadh, a leader of the Ansaar, rose and said, "O Prophet of Allah, we have believed in you and witnessed that what has descended on you is the truth. We gave you our allegiance, so go ahead with what you intend to do, and we will stand by you. By Allah Who has sent you with the truth, if you attempt to cross the sea, we will cross it hand in hand with you. None of us will lag behind or turn his back on you. We are not afraid to meet our enemy tomorrow, for we are given to terrible warfare and we are faithful in our desire to meet Allah. I pray Allah that we do what will make you proud of us. Go ahead with Allah's blessings."


The Prophet (PBUH) was extremely sanguine on hearing this and said to his Companions, "March forward and be cheerful and confident!" After a while the two armies met in fierce combat. The Muslim cavalry on that day were only three Al-Miqdaad lbn Amr, Marthid lbn Abi Marthid, and Az-Zubair Ibn Al Awaam. The rest of the Mujaahiduun were infantry or riding on camels.


* * *

Al-Miqdaad's previous words not only proved his valor but also his preponderant wisdom and profound thought.

Al-Miqdaad was a wise and intelligent man. His wisdom was not expressed in mere words but in empirical principles and a constant Unvarying conduct. His experience was the fuel of his wisdom and intelligence.

The Prophet (PBUH) once assigned him to rule one of the governorships, and when he returned the Prophet (PBUH) asked him, "How does it feel be a governor?" He answered with admirable honesty, "It made me feel as if I were in a silver tower above the rest of the people. By Allah Who has sent you with the truth, from now on, I will never expose myself to the temptations of governing."

If that was not wisdom, then what else is? If that was not a wise man, then who else is?

This was an honest and straightforward man who was able to detect, unveil, and admit his innermost weakness. His position as a governor made him vulnerable to haughtiness and vainglory. He detected this weakness in himself at once and took a solemn oath to avoid any position or rank that might jeopardize his piety and righteousness. He kept his oath and renounced any influential or controversial situation for the rest of his life.

He cherished and treasured the hadith of the Prophet (PBUH): "He who avoids fitnah (trials, afflictions, and error) is indeed a happy man."

He realized that because the governorship awakened latent pride and haughtiness in him and exposed him to Fitnah, it was better to avoid any position that might arouse this weakness. His wisdom was manifested in his deliberateness and perseverance in his judgment of men. This was also a trait that Allah's Prophet (PBUH) instilled in him, for he taught Muslims that the hearts of the children of Adam are incredibly capricious.

Al-Miqdaad was always for delaying his final judgment of a man to the moment of death so as to be absolutely positive that the man concerned would not alter, for death means finality. His wisdom was most conspicuous in the dialogue that was narrated by one of his companions: One day, we sat with Al-Miqdaad and a man passed by and addressed Al-Miqdaad saying, "All kinds of happiness are for these eyes which have seen Allah's Prophet (PBUH). By Allah, we wish that we saw what you have seen and witnessed what you have witnessed." Al-Miqdaad approached him and said, "Why should anyone wish to witness a scene that Allah did not wish him to see? He does not know what it would have been like if he had witnessed it or which party he would have been among if he went back in time. By Allah, Allah's Prophet (PBUH) saw people who were thrown right into hell, so you should thank Allah that you were spared such a trial and were honored by firm belief in Allah and His Prophet (PBUH)."

Undoubtedly, it is remarkable wisdom. You hardly ever meet a believer who loves Allah and the Prophet (PBUH) and does not wish to see and live within the Prophet's sight. Yet the insight of the wise and skillful Miqdaad unveiled the missing dimension of this wish. For is it not possible that if this man had lived during those times he might have ended up among the dwellers of Hell? Is it not possible that he might have sided with the disbelievers? Again, is it not far much better for him to thank Allah Who destined him to live at a time when Islam is deeply -rooted and fully-fledged, awaiting him to quench his thirst from its inexhaustible pure spring?

Al-Miqdaad's viewpoint was subtly wise and intelligent. He always emerged as the wise and clever man iall his actions, deeds, and words.


* * *

Al-Miqdaad's love for Islam was not only great but also reasonable and wise. A man who has such great and wise love inside him must be raised to a high station, for he does not find pleasure in this love per se but rather in its responsibilities and obligations. Al Miqdaad definitely was this type of man. His love for the Prophet filled his heart and deepened his feeling of responsibility towards the Prophet's safety. No sooner was a call for an expedition announced than he darted towards the Prophet's house on horseback armed with his sharp sword!

His love for Islam filled his heart with responsibility for its protections, not only from the plots of its enemies, but also from the errors of its allies.

One day, his army unit went on an expedition, but the enemy troops were able to besiege them. Therefore, their commander gave an order to his soldiers not to graze their camels. One of the Muslim soldiers did not hear his order and, in consequence, disobeyed it. The commander punished him severely, more than he actually deserved. In fact, he did not deserve to be punished at all. Al-Miqdaad passed by this man and found him in tears, so he asked him what was the matter, and the latter told him what had happened. Al-Miqdaad took the man to the commander, where he argued with him until he was convinced of his error of judgment. Then Al-Miqdaad said, "Now it is the time for retaliation. He must have his qisaas - the law of equality of punishment!"

The commander yielded to his judgment but the soldier remitted the retaliation. Al-Miqdaad was thrown into ectasy over the greatness of the religion that made it possible for them to reach this power of courageous judgment, admirable submission, and great forgiveness. He said as if he were singing a song, " I will see Islam triumphant even if I have to die for it." Indeed, it was his utmost wish to see Islam most powerful before he died. His extraordinary effort to make his wish come true made the Prophet (PBUH) say to him, "O Al-Miqdaad, Allah ordered me to love you and told me that He loves you."

(10)
SA'IID IBN `AAMIR

Greatness Under Worn-out Garments


Does any of us know this man or have any of us ever heard his name before? Most probably, the majority of us, if not all, have not heard his name mentioned before. I imagine that you wonder, who is Sa'iid Ibn `Aamir? Well, you are about to embark on a journey back in time so as to find out all that there is to be known about this "happy" ("Sa'iid" means "happy ") man, so fasten your seat belts.

In short, Sa'iid was one of the outstanding Companions of the Prophet (PBUH), notwithstanding the fact that his name was seldom, if ever, mentioned. He was one of the most distinguished unknown pious Companions. It was natural that he, like all Muslims, would accompany the Prophet (PBUH) in all his expeditions and battles, for as a believer, he could not lag or turn his back on Allah's Prophet (PBUH) in peace or war time. Shortly before the Conquest of Khaibar, Sa'iid submitted himself to Islam. Ever since he embraced Islam and gave his allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH)), he consecrated his life, existence, and destiny to the service of Islam. All the great virtues of obedience, asceticism, dignity, humbleness, piety, and pride thrived harmoniously inside this pure and kind man.

* * *

In our attempt to unveil his greatness, we must bear in mind that, in most cases, appearance contrasts with reality. If we are to judge him by his outer looks, we will not do him justice, for he was definitely ill-favored as regards his appearance. He had dusty uncombed hair. Nothing in his looks or appearance distinguished him from poor Muslims. If we are to judge his reality by his appearance, we will see nothing impressive or breath-taking. But if we dive deep into his inner self beyond his outer appearance, we will see greatness in the full meaning of the word. His greatness stood aloof from the splendor and ornament of life. Yet, it lurked there beyond his modest appearance and worn-out garments. Have you ever seen a pearl hidden inside its shell? Well, he was much like this hidden pearl.

* * *


When the Commander of the Faithful `Umar Than Al- Khattaab dismissed Mu'aawiyah from his position as governor of Homs in Syria, he exerted himself in searching for someone who was qualified to take over his position.

Undoubtedly, `Umar's standards of choice of governors and assistants were highly cautious, meticulous, and scrutinizing. He believed that if a governor committed a sin, error, or violation, two people would be asked to account for it before Allah: `Umar and the governor, even if this governor were in the farthest corner of the earth. His standards of estimation and evaluation of governors were highly subtle, alert, and perceiving. Centuries before the advent of Islam, Homs was a big city that witnessed, one after the other, the dawn and eclipse of many civilizations. besides, it was a vital trade center. The attractions of the vast city turned it into a place of seduction and temptation. In `Umar's opinion only an ascetic, devout, and repentant worshiper would be able to resist and renounce its attractions.

`Umar suddenly realized that Sa'iid Ibn `Aamir was the man he was looking for and cried out, "Sa'iid Ibn `Aamir is the right man for this mission." He summoned him. Sa'iid was offered the governorship by the Commander of the Faithful, but he refused saying, "Do not expose me to Fitnah (trials and affliction)." `Umar then cried out, "By Allah, I will not let you turn me down. Do you lay the burdens of your trusteeship and the caliphate upon my shoulders, then you refuse to help me out? " Instantly, Sa'iid was convinced of the logic of `Umar's words. Indeed, it was not fair to abandon or avoid their obligation towards their trusteeship and towards the caliphate and lay them on `Umar's shoulders. Moreover, if people like Sa'iid Ibn `Aamir renounced the responsibility of rule, then `Umar would definitely have a hard time to find a man who was highly pious and righteous enough to be entrusted with such a mission.

Hence, Sa'iid traveled with his wife to Syria. They were newly wed. Ever since his bride was a little girl, she had been an exquisitely blooming beauty. `Umar gave him a considerable sum of money at the time of his departure.

When they settled down in Syria, his wife wanted to use this money, so she asked him to buy appropriate garments, upholstery, and furniture, and to save the rest of it. Sa'iid said to her, "I have a better idea. We are in a country with profitable trade and brisk markets, so it would be better to give this money to a merchant so as to invest it." She said, "But if he loses it?" Sa'iid said, "I will make him a guarantee that the amount will be paid notwithstanding." She answered, "All right then."

Of course, Sa'iid went out and bought the necessities for an ascetic life, then gave all his money in voluntary charity in Allah's cause to the poor and those in need. Time went by, and every now and then his wife would ask him about their money and their profits and he would answer, "It is a highly profitable trade."

One day, she asked him the same question before one of his relatives who knew what he had done with the money. His relative smiled, then he could not help laughing in a way that made Sa'iid's wife suspicious. Therefore, she prevailed on him to tell her the truth. He told her, "Sa'iid on that day gave all his money in voluntary charity in Allah's cause." Sa'iid's wife was broken-hearted, for not only had she lost her last chance to buy what she wanted but also lost all their money. Sa'iid gazed at her sad, meek eyes glistening with tears that only added more charm and grace to her eyes; yet before he yielded to this fascinating figure, he perceived Paradise inhabited by his late friends and said, "I had companions who preceded me in ascending to Allah and you will not deviate from the path they have taken, not for the world." He was afraid lest her excelling beauty should make her disobey him; therefore he said as if he were talking to himself, "You know that Paradise is filled with Houris, fair females with wide and lovely eyes as wives for the pious, who are extremely lovely. If one of them had a peep at the earth, she would illuminate it with her light that combines the light of both the earth and the moon. So you should not blame me if I chose to sacrifice your love for their love and not vice versa." Throughout his talk, he was calm, pleased, and satisfied. His wife was peaceful, for she realized that she had no choice but to follow Sa`iid's example and adopt herself to his rigid, ascetic, and pious way of life.

* * *


Homs at that time was called the second Kufa. The reason behind this was that its people were easily stirred and swayed to revolt against their governors. Homs was named after Al-Kufa in Iraq, which was notorious for endless mutiny and uprisings. Although, the people of Homs were given to mutiny, as we have already mentioned, Allah guided their hearts to His righteous slave Sa'iid. Thus, they loved and obeyed him.

One day, `Umar said to him, "I find it rather strange that the people of Syria love and obey you." Sa'iid answered, "Maybe they love me because I help and sympathize with them."

Despite the love of the people of Homs for Sa'iid, their innate rebellious disposition got the better of them. Hence, sounds of discontent and complaint began to be heard, thus proving that Homs was not called the second Kufa in vain. One day, as the Commander of the Faithful was visiting Homs, he asked its people who gathered around him for their opinion of Sa'iid. Some made complaints against him which were blessings in disguise, for they unveiled an impressively great man.

`Umar asked the criticizing group to state their complaints one by one. The representative of the group stood up and said, "We have four complaints against Sa'iid : First, he doesn't come out of his house until the sun rises high and the day becomes hot. Second, he does not see anyone at night. Third, there are two days in every month in which he doesn't leave his house at all. Fourth, he faints every now and then, and this annoys us although he can't help it." The man sat down and `Umar was silent for while for he was secretly supplicating Allah saying, "Allah, I know that he is one of Your best slaves. Allah, I beseech You not to make me disappointed in him." He summoned Sa'iid to defend himself. Sa'iid replied, "As for their complaint that I do not get out of my house before noon, by Allah I hate to explain the reason that made me do that, but I have to do so. The reason is that my wife does not have a servant, so I knead my dough, wait for it to rise, bake my bread, perform ablution and pray Duha, then I go out of my house." `Umar's face brightened as he said, "All praises and thanks be to Allah." Then he urged him to refute the rest of the allegations. Sa'iid went on, " As for their complaint that I do not meet anyone at night, by Allah, I hate to say the reason, but you force me to. Anyway, I have devoted the day to them and consecrated the night for Allah. As for the third complaint that they do not see me two days per month, well, I do not have a servant to wash my garment and I have no spare one. Therefore, I wash it and wait for it to dry shortly before sunset, then I go out of my house to meet them. My defense against the last complaint of the fainting fits is that I saw with my own eyes Khubaib Al-Ansaariy being slain in Makkah. The Quraish cut his body into small pieces and said, `Do you want to save yourself and see Muhammad in your place instead? He answered, `By Allah, I will not accept your offer of setting me free to return to my family safe and sound, even if you gave me all the splendors and ornaments of life in return for exposing the Prophet (PBUH) to the least annoyance, even if it was a prick of a thorn. Now, every time this scene of me standing there as a disbeliever, watching Khubaib being tortured to death and doing nothing to save him flickers in my mind, I find myself shaking with fear of Allah's punishment and I faint."

These were Sa'iid's words which left his lips that were already wet from the flow of his pure and pious tears. The overjoyed `Umar could not help but cry Out, "All praises and thanks be to Allah Who would not make me disappointed in you!" He hugged Sa'iid and kissed his graceful and dignified forehead.

* * *

What a great guidance must have been bestowed on those outstanding men! What an excellent instructor Allah's Prophet (PBUH) must have been! What a penetrating light must have emanated from Allah's Book! What an inspiring and instructive school Islam must have been! I wonder if the earth can take in so much of the piety and righteousness of those fortunate men. I presume that if that happened, then we would no longer call it the earth but rather Paradise. Indeed the "Promised Paradise."

Since it is not time for Paradise yet, it is only natural that those glorious superior men who pass by life are but few, very few. Sa'iid lbn `Aamir was definitely one of those superior Muslims.

His position allowed him a considerable salary, yet he took only enough money to buy the necessities for himself and his wife and gave the rest in voluntary charity in the way of Allah. One day, he was urged to spend this surplus on his family and relatives, yet he answered, "Why should I give it to my family and relatives? No, by Allah, I will not sell Allah's pleasure to seek my kinfolks' pleasure."

He was later urged, "Spend more money on yourself and on your family and try to enjoy the lawful good things." But he always answered, "I will not stay behind the foremost Muslims after I heard the Prophet (PBUH) say, `When Almighty Allah gathers all people on the Day of Reckoning, the poor believers will step forward in solemn procession. They will be asked to stop for reckoning but they will answer confidently: We have nothing to account for. Allah will say: My slaves said the truth. Hence, they will enter Paradise before all other people."

In A.H. 20, Sa'iid met Allah with a pure record, pious heart, and honorable history. He yearned for so long to be among the foremost Muslims; in fact, he consecrated his life to fulfill their covenant and follow in their footsteps. He yearned for so long for his Prophet (PBUH) and instructor and his pure and repentant comrades. He left all the burdens, troubles, and hardships of life behind. He had nothing but his pious, ascetic, awesome, and great inner self. These virtues made the balance of good deeds heavy rather than light. He impressed the world with his qualities rather than with his conceit.

Peace be upon Sa'iid lbn `Aamir. Peace be upon his life and resurrection. Peace be upon the honorable and obedient Companions of the Prophet and blessings and peace be upon him.

(11)
HAMZAH IBN `ABD AL-MUTTALIB

The Lion of Allah and The Martyr of Martyrs



After a day full of work, worship, and entertainment, the people of Makkah fell into a deep sleep. The people of the Quraish were turning in their beds except for one who forsook his bed of sleep. He used to go to bed early, rest for a few hours, then wake up in great anxiety for the expected appointment with Allah. He went to the praying corner in his room to supplicate to his God. Whenever his wife awakened upon hearing the voice of his long supplications, she shed tears out of warm sympathy and asked him not to take it so hard and to get some sleep. He only answered her in tears, "The time for sleep is over, khadijjah." At that time Muhammad was not yet a serious problem for the Quraish, although he had started to draw their attention as he started to spread his call secretly; those who believed in him were still quite few.

There were people among the non-believers who loved and respected him. They yearned to declare their belief in him and become one of his followers, but their fear of the prevailing norms and the pressure of inherited traditions prevented them. Among them was Hamzah lbn `Abdul Muttalib, the Prophet's paternal uncle who was at the same time his brother through fosterage (i.e. they had been breast-fed by the same woman).

* * *

Hamzah was fully aware of the greatness of his nephew and of the truth he came with. He used to know him not only as a nephew, but also as a brother and friend because they both belonged to the same generation. They always played together and walked together on the same road of life step by step. But in their youth they departed, each one in his own way: Hamzah preferred the life of leisure, trying to take his place among the prominent leaders of the Quraish and Makkah, while Muhammad chose the life of seclusion away from the crowd, immersed in the deep spiritual meditation that prepared him to receive the truth.

Despite the fact that each of them had a different way of living out his own youth, Hamzah was always attentive to the virtues of his friend and nephew. Such virtues helped Muhammad to win a special place in the hearts of people and helped to draw a clear outline for his great future.

The next day, Hamzah went out as usual. At the Ka'bah he found a number of Quraishi noblemen. He sat with them, listening to what they had to say: they were talking about Muhammad. For the first time Hamzah saw them worried about the call his nephew was propagating with a tone of bitterness and rage marking their voices. Before that, they had never paid attention - at least they had pretended not to do so - but on that day their faces looked perplexed, upset, and aggressive.

Hamzah laughed at their talks and accused them of exaggeration. Abu Jahl said to his companions that Hamzah was the best one to know the danger of his nephew's call and that he pretended to underestimate this danger till the Quraish would relax so much that when they awakened it would be after his nephew had complete control over them.

They kept talking and threatening while Hamzah sat, sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning. When they dispersed his head was full of new ideas about the issues of his nephew that they had discussed in his presence.


* * *

Days passed and the Quraish's whispering about the Prophet's call increased. Later, whispering turned into provocation and Hamzah watched from a distance. His nephew's composed, steadfast attitude towards their provocations puzzled him. Such an attitude was quite unfamiliar to the Bani Quraish, who were themselves known to be strong and challenging.

If doubts of the greatness and truth of Muhammad could steal into anyone's heart, they would have never stolen into Hamzah's heart, because he was the best one to know Muhammad from his early childhood to his youth, then to his proud, honest manhood. Hamzah knew Muhammad as he knew himself and maybe more. Since they had come into life together, grown up together, and attained full strength together, Muhammad's life had been as pure and clear as the sunlight. It never occurred to Hamzah that Muhammad could make an error or a doubtful act in his life. He never saw Muhammad angry, hopeless , greedy, careless, or unstable. Hamzah was not only physically strong, but was also wise and strong-willed. Therefore, it was natural for him to follow a man in whose honesty and truthfuIness he wholeheartedly believed. Thus he kept a secret in his heart that was soon going to be disclosed.

Then came the day. Hamzah went out of his house towards the desert carrying his bow to practice his favorite sport of hunting (in which he was very skilled). He spent most of his day there. On his way home he passed by the Ka'bah as usual, to circumambulate it.

Near the Ka'bah, a female servant of `Abd Allah lbn Jud'aan saw him and said, "O Abu `Umaarah! You haven't seen what happened to your nephew at the hands of Abu Al-Hakam lbn Hishaam. When he saw Muhammad sitting there, he hurt him and called him bad names and treated him in a way that he hated." She went on to explain what Abu Jahl had done to the Prophet of Allah. Hamzah listened to her carefully and paused for a while, then with his right hand he picked up his bow and put it on his shoulder. He walked with fast, steady steps towards the Ka'bah, hoping to meet Abu Jahl there. He decided that if he did not find him, he would search for him everywhere till he did.

As soon as he reached the Ka'bah he glanced at Abu Jahl sitting in the yard in the middle of the Quraishi noblemen. Hamzah advanced very calmly towards Abu Jahl and hit him with his bow on the head till it broke the skin and bled. To everybody's surprise, Hamzah shouted, "You dare to insult Muhammad while I follow his religion and I say what he says? Come and retaliate upon me. Hit me if you can." In a moment they all forgot how their leader Abu Jahl had been insulted and they were all thunderstruck by the news that Hamzah had converted to Muhammad's religion and that he saw what Muhammad saw and said what he said. Could Hamzah really have converted to Islam when he was the strongest and most dignified Quraishi young man?

Such was the overwhelming disaster to which the Quraish were helpless, because Hamzah's conversion would attract others from the elite to do the same. Thus Muhammad's call would be supported, and he would find enough solidarity that the Quraish might wake up one day to find their idols being pulled down.

Indeed, Hamzah had converted, and he announced what he had kept secret in his heart for so long.

* * *

Again Hamzah picked up his bow, put it on his shoulder, and with steady steps and full strength left the place with everyone looking disappointed and Abu Jahl licking the blood flowing from his wounded head.

Hamzah possessed a sharp sight and dear consciousness. He went home, and after he had relaxed from the day's exhaustion he sat down to think over what had happened. He had announced it in a moment of indignation and rage. He hated to see his nephew getting insulted and suffering injustice with no one to help him. Such racial zeal for the honor of Bani Haashim's talk had made him hit Abu Jahl on the head and shout declaring his Islam. But was that the ideal way for anyone to change the religion of his parents and ancestors and to embrace a new religion whose teachings he had not yet become familiar with and whose true reality he had not acquired sufficient knowledge of? It was true that Hamzah had never had any doubts about Muhammad's integrity, but could anybody embrace a new religion with all its responsibilities just in a moment of rage as Hamzah had done?

It was true that he had always kept in his heart a great respect for the new call his nephew was carrying and its banner, but what should the right time have been to embrace this religion if he was destined to embrace it? Should it be a moment of indignation and anger or a moment of deep reflection? Thus he was inspired by a clear consciousness to reconsider the whole situation in light of strict and meticulous thinking.

Hamzah started thinking. He spent many restless days and sleepless nights. When one tries to attain the truth by the power of mind, uncertainty will become a means of knowledge, and this is what happened to Hamzah. Once he used his mind to search Islam and to weigh between the old religion and the new one, he started to have doubts raised by his innate inherited nostalgia for his father's religion and by the natural fear of anything new. All his memories of the Ka`bah, the idols, the statues and the high religious status these idols bestowed on the Quraish and Makkah were raised.

It appeared to him that denying all this history and the ancient religion was like a big chasm which had to be crossed. Hamzah was amazed at how a man could depart from the religion of his father that early and that fast. He regretted what he had done but he went on with the journey of reasonable thinking. But at that moment, he realized that his mind was not enough and that he should resort sincerely to the unseen power. At the Ka'bah he prayed and supplicated to heaven, seeking help from every light that existed in the universe to be guided to the right path.

Let us hear him narrating his own story: I regretted having departed from the religion of my father and kin, and I was in a terrible state of uncertainty and could not sleep. I came to the Ka'bah and supplicated to Allah to open my heart to what was right and to eliminate all doubts from it. Allah answered my prayer and filled my heart with faith and certainty. In the morning I went to the Prophet (PBUH) informing him about myself, and he prayed to Allah that He may keep my heart stable in this religion.

In this way Hamzah converted to Islam, the religion of certainty.

* * *

Allah supported Islam with Hamzah's conversion. He was strong in defending the Prophet of Allah (PBUH) and the helpless amongst his Companions. When Abu Jahl saw him among the Muslims, he realized that war was inevitably coming. Therefore he began to support the Quraish to ruin the Prophet and his Companions. He wanted to prepare for a civil war to relieve his heart of anger and bitter feelings.

Hamzah was unable, of course, to prevent all the harm alone, but his conversion was a shield that protected the Muslims, and was the first source of attraction to many tribes to embrace Islam. The second source was `Umar Ibn Al-Khattab's conversion, after which people entered Allah's religion in crowds. Since his conversion, Hamzah devoted all his life and power to Allah and His religion till the Prophet (PBUH) honored him with the noble title, "The Lion of Allah and of His Messenger".

The first military raid launched by the Muslims against their enemies was under the command of Hamzah. The first banner that the Prophet handed to any Muslim was to Hamzah. In the battle of Badr, when the two conflicting parties met, the Lion of Allah and of His Messenger was there performing great wonders.

* * *

The defeated remnants of the Quraish army went back to Makkah stumbling in disappointment. Abu Sufyaan was broken hearted with a bowed head as he left on the battlefield the dead bodies of the Quraish martyrs such as Abu Jahl, Utbah Ibn Rabii'ah, Shaibah lbn Rabii'ah, Umaiyah Ibn khalaf, `Uqbah Thn Abi Mu'ait, Al-Aswad Ibn `Abdul Al-Asad Al-Makhzumi, Al- Wallid lbn `Utbah, Al-Nafr lbn Al-Haarith, Al-'Aas lbn Sa'iid, Ta'mah lbn `Addi and tens of other great Quraish.

But the Quraish would not accept the defeat easily. They started to prepare the army and to pull together all powers to avenge their honor and their dead. They insisted to continue the war. In the Battle of Uhud, all the Quraish went to war together with their allies from the Arabs, under the leadership of Abu Sufyaan once again.

The Quraishi leaders had targeted two persons in the new battle, namely, the Prophet (PBUH) and Hamzah (May Allah be pleased with him). If one had heard them talking and plotting before the war, one would realize that Hamzah was their second main target after the Prophet (PBUH).

Before they went to war, they had already chosen the person in charge of assassinating Hamzah: an Abyssinian slave with extra ordinary skill in spear throwing. They planned for him to kill Hamzah, his only role being to hit him with a deadly spear. They warned him not to be busy with any other preoccupation other than Hamzah, regardless of the situation on the battlefield. They promised him the excellent reward of his freedom. The slave, whose name was Wahshiy, was owned by Jubair Ipn Mut`am. Jubair's uncle had been killed in the Battle of Badr, so Jubair said to Wahshiy, "Go out with the army, and if you kill Hamzah you will be free." Afterwards, the Quraish sent Wahshiy to Hind Bint `Utbah, Abu Sufyaan's wife, to give him more encouragement to kill Hamzah, because she had lost her father, uncle, brother, and son and it was said that Hamzah had been behind their deaths.

This was the reason why Hind was the most enthusiastic one of all the Quraish to escalate the war. All she wanted was Hamzah's head, whatever the cost might be. She spent days before the battle pouring all her rage into Wahshiy's heart and making the plans for him. She promised him if he killed Hamzah she would give him her most precious trinkets. With her hateful fingers she held her precious pearl earrings and a number of golden necklaces around her neck and gazed at him saying, "All these are yours if you kill Hamzah." Wahshiy's mouth watered for the offer, and his soul yearned for the battle after which he would win his freedom and cease to be a slave, in addition to all the jewelry decorating the neck of the leading woman of the Quraish, the wife of its leader, and the daughter of its master. It was clear then that the whole war and the whole conspiracy were decisively seeking Hamzah.

* * *

The Battle of Uhud started and the two armies met. Hamzah was in the middle of the battlefield in battle dress and on his bosom he put an ostrich feather that he used to wear while fighting. He was moving everywhere cutting off the head of each polytheist he reached among the army of the Quraish. It seemed that death was at his command. Whenever he ordered it for anyone it reached him in the heart.

The Muslims were about to gain victory and the defeated army of the Quraish started to withdraw in fright, but the Muslim archers left their places on the mountain to collect the spoils of war that the Quraish had left. If they had not left their places, giving the Quraish cavalry the chance to find a way, the battle would have ended as a gigantic grave for all the Quraish, including men, women, horses, and even cattle.

The Quraish attacked the Muslims by surprise from the back and started strilang them with thirsty swords. The Muslims tried to pull themselves together, picking up the weapons they had put down upon seeing the Quraish withdrawing, but the attack was too violent. When Hamzah saw what had happened, he doubled his strength and his activity. Hamzah was striking all around him while Wahshiy was observing him, waiting for the right moment. Let us hear Wahshiy himself describe the scene.

I was an Abyssinian man who used to throw the spear in an Abyssinian way that scarcely misses its target. When the armies met I searched for Hamzah till I found him in the middle of the crowd like a huge camel. He was killing every one around him with his sword. Nothing could stop him. By Allah, I prepared for him. I wanted him. I hid behind a tree so that I might attack him or he might come close to me. At that moment Sabaa'u Ibn `Abd Al-'Uzzaa approached him before me. When Hamzah glanced at him he shouted, "Come to me, you son of the one who circumcises!" and he hit him directly in the head. Then I shook my spear till I was in full control over it and threw it. The spear penetrated him from the back and came out from between his legs. He rose to reach me but could not and soon died. I came to his body and took my spear and went back to sit in the camp. I didn't want anything else to do with him. I killed him only to be free.

Let Wahshiy continue his story: When I returned to Makkah, they set me free. I stayed there till the Prophet (PBUH) entered Makkah on the Day of the Conquest. I fled to At-Taa'if. When the delegation of Al-Taa'if went to declare their conversion to Islam, I heard various people say that I should go to Syria or Yemen or any other place. While I was in such distress, a man said to me, "Woe to you! The Prophet (PBUH) never kills anyone entering his religion." I went to Allah's Prophet (PBUH) in Al- Madiinah, and the moment he first saw me I was already giving my true testimony. When he saw me he said, "Is it you, Wahshiy?" I said, "Yes, Messenger of Allah." He said, "Tell me, how did you kill Hamzah?" I told him, and when I finished he told me, "Woe to you! Get out of my sight and never show your face to me." From that time, I always avoided wherever the Prophet (PBUH) went lest he should see me, till he died.

Afterwards, when the Muslims fought Musailamah the Liar in the Battle of Al-Yamaamah, I went with them. I took with me the same spear that I had killed Hamzah with. When the armies met, I saw Musailamah standing with his sword in his hand. I prepared for him, shook my spear till I had full control over it, threw it, and it went into his body. If I killed with this spear the best of people, Hamzah, I wish that Allah may forgive me, as I killed with it the worst of people, Musailamah.

Thus the Lion of Allah and of His Messenger died as a great martyr. His death was as unusual as his life, because it was not enough for his enemies to kill him. They sacrificed all the men and money of the Quraish to a battle only seeking the Prophet (PBUH) and his uncle Hamzah.

Hind Bint `Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyaan, ordered Wahshiy to bring her Hamzah's liver, and he responded to her savage desire. When he returned to her, he delivered the liver to her with his right hand, while taking the necklaces with the left as a reward for the accomplished task. Hind, whose father had been killed in the Battle of Badr and whose husband was the leader of the polytheist army, chewed Hamzah's liver hoping to relieve her heart, but the liver was too tough for her teeth so she spat it out and stood up shouting her poem:


For Badr we've paid you better
In a war more flaring than the other.
I was not patient to revenge the murder of
`Utbah, my son, and my brother.
My vow's fulfilled, my heart's relieved forever.

The battle ended and the polytheists mounted their camels and led their horses back to Makkah. The Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions examined the battlefield to see the martyrs. There, in the heart of the valley, the Prophet (PBUH) was examining the faces of his Companions who had offered their souls to their Lord and had given their lives as a precious sacrifice to Him.

The Prophet (PBUH) suddenly stood up and gazed in an upset manner at what he saw. He ground his teeth and dosed his eyes. He never imagined that the Arabic moral code could be that savage so as to cut and disfigure a dead body in the dreadful way that had happened to his uncle, the Lion of Allah, Hamzah Ibn `Abd Al Muttalib. The Prophet (PBUH) opened his shining eyes and looked at the dead body of his uncle saying, "I will never have a worse loss in my life than yours. I have never been more outraged than I am now."
Then he turned to his Companions saying, "It is only for the sake of Safiyah [Hamzah's sister] that she should be grieved and that it should be taken as a practice after me. Otherwise, I would have ordered him to be left without burying so that he may be in the stomachs of beasts and in the craws of birds. If Allah destines me to win over the Quraish, I will cut thirty of them into pieces."

Therefore, the Companions shouted, "By Allah, if one day we conquer them, we will cut them in a way that no Arab has done before!" Allah honored Hamzah by making his death a great lesson for the Muslims to learn justice and mercy, even in situations when penalties and retaliation were justified. No sooner had the Prophet finished his threatening words, then a revelation came down to him while he was still standing in his place with the following verse: "Call mankind to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and sound advice, and reason with them in a well mannered way. Indeed your Lord is well aware of those who have gone astray from His way, and He is well aware of those who are guided. And if you retaliate, let your retaliation be to the extent that you were afflicted, but if you are patient, it will certainly be best for those who are patient; and be patient, yet your patience is only with the help of GOD, and do not sorrow for them, not distress yourself at what they devise. Indeed GOD is with those who are pious, and those who are doers of good" (16:125-127).

The revelation of these verses in this situation was the best honor for Hamzah. As stated before, the Prophet (PBUH) loved him dearly because he was not only an uncle, but also his brother by fosterage, his playmate in childhood, and the best friend in all his life.

The Prophet (PBUH) did not find any better farewell for Hamzah than praying for him among the numerous martyrs. Hamzah's body was carried to the place of prayer on the battlefield, in the same place which had witnessed his bravery and embraced his blood. The Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions prayed for him, then they brought another martyr and put him beside Hamzah, and prayed for him. Then they took the martyr away and left Hamzah and brought the next martyr and placed him beside Hamzah and prayed for him and so on. They brought all the martyrs, one after the other and prayed for them beside Hamzah, who on that day was prayed for seventy times (the number of martyrs).

* * *

On his way from the battlefield, the Prophet (PBUH) heard the women of Bani `Abd Al- Ashhal lamenting their martyrs and he said, "But Hamzah has no one to lament him." Sa'd lbn Mu'aadh heard this sentence and thought that the Prophet (PBUH) would be satisfied if the women would lament his uncle. He hurried to the women of Bani Abd Al-Ashhal and ordered them to lament Hamzah. When the Prophet (PBUH) heard them doing this he said, "I did not mean this. Go back, may Allah have mercy on you. There will be no crying anymore." The Prophet's (PBUH) Companions began to say their eulogies for Hamzah in praise of his virtues. The poet Hassaan lbn Thaabit said in the course of a long poem:


Moan for Hamzah the one
Who won't forget your horse which was old.
He spurs horses when away they run
Like lions in jungles. He's strong and bold,
Whiter than Haashim. He looks in the sun
Except for the night, his tongue never told
Among your swords, in was he done,
Paralyzed be the hands that Wahshiy has sold."
Abd Allah lbn Rawaahah also said:
I moaned, but what did moaning do for me?
When they said Hamzah the Lion was killed
Abu Ya`liy, a man with honor was filled
For your death, pillars down were pulled.
* * *
Safiyah, Hamzah's sister and the Prophet's (PBUH) aunt said:


To the happy Paradise of Allah he was invited.
Such a destiny for Hamzah was what we wanted,
I won't forget you if I stayed or departed.
I moan for a lion by whom Islam was protected.
O brother, may Allah for what you did
Make you rewarded.

But the best words said about him were those of the Prophet (PBUH) when he first saw him among the martyrs: "May Allah have mercy on you. You were, as far as I knew, always uniting blood relations and doing all sorts of goodness."

The loss of Hamzah was great and nothing could console the Prophet (PBUH) for it. But to his surprise, Allah offered him the best consolation. When he was walking home from Uhud, he saw a woman from the Bani Diinaar whose husband, father, and brother had been killed in the battle. She asked the returning Muslim soldiers about the battle. When they told her of the death of her father, husband, and brother, she soon asked them anxiously, "What about the Prophet of Allah?" They said, "He is very well as you wish him to be." She said, "Show me, let me look at him." They stayed beside her till the Prophet (PBUH) came and when she saw him she said, "if you are safe, all other disasters will be of no importance."

Yes, this was the best condolence for the Prophet (PBUH). He smiled at this unusual situation which had no similitude in loyalty and devotion. A poor, helpless woman lost in an hour father, brother, and husband. Her reaction to that news - which if it had fallen on a mountain would have made it collapse - was, "What about the Prophet of Allah?" It was such a well-timed situation that it is evident that Allah planned to console His Prophet (PBUH) for the death of Allah's Lion and martyr of all martyrs.

(12)
`ABD ALLAH IBN MAS'UUD

The First Reiter of Qur'aan




Before the Prophet (PBUH) entered Daar Al-Arqam, lbn Mas'uud had declared his belief in him. He was the sixth one to embrace Islam and follow the Prophet (PBUH). Thus he was one of the early Muslims.

He narrated his first meeting with the Prophet (PBUH): I was a young shepherd boy responsible for the sheep of `Uqbah lbn Abu Mu'ait. The Prophet (PBUH) once came with Abu Bakr and said, "O boy, do you have milk for us to drink?" and I said, "I can't let you drink their milk." The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Do you have a virgin sheep that has never mated with a male?" I said, "Yes" and brought it to them. The Prophet (PBUH) caught it and stroked its udder and prayed to Allah till the udder filled. Abu Bakr brought him a concave rock into which he milked the sheep. Abu Bakr drank the milk, and then after that the Prophet said to the udder, "Shrink," and it did. I went to the Prophet after this incident and said to him, "Teach me this kind of talk." The Prophet (PBUH) said, "You are already a learned boy."

`Abd Allah lbn Mas'uud was fascinated to see the pious Servant and Messenger of Allah supplicate Allah and stroke a virgin udder till it gave milk, pure and agreeable to those who drank it. lbn Mas'uud did not realize that what he had seen was but the least wonderful miracle and that soon he would see at the hands of that honorable Prophet other miracles that would shake the world and fill it with light and faith. He did not realize either that he himself, the poor, weak, hired shepherd boy working for `Uqbah lbn Abu Mu'ait would be one of those miracles when he became, through his Islam, a strong believer capable of defeating the pride of the Quraish and overcoming the oppression of its martyrs.

Before his Islam he never dared to pass by a session attended by any Quraish nobleman except with hastened steps and a bowed head, but after Islam he was capable of going to the Ka'bah, where the elite Quraish congregated and standing among them reading the Qur'aan in a loud, beautiful, impressive voice: "In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, The Most Beneficent! Has taught the Qur'aan. He created man. He taught him eloquent speech. The sun and the moon run on their fixed courses (exactly) calculated with measured out stages for each. And the herbs (or stars) and the trees both prostrate " (55:1-6).

He went on reciting while the Quraish were thunderstruck, not believing their own eyes or ears. They could not imagine that the one challenging their pride was just one of their hired shepherd boys who was the poor unknown `Abd Allah Ibn Mas'uud. Let us hear an eye witness, Az-Zubair (May Allah be pleased with him), describe the exciting scene: `Abd Allah Ibn Mas'uud was the first one to recite Qur'aan publicly in Makkah after the Prophet (PBUH). It happened one day that the Prophet's Companions were gathered with the Prophet (PBUH). They said, "By Allah, the Quraish have never heard the Qur'aan being recited to them before. Isn't there any man to recite it so that they may hear it?" Thereupon Abd Allah Ibn Mas`uud said, "I." They said, "We are afraid they may harm you. We want a man with a strong family to protect him from those people if they want to harm him." He said, "Let me go, Allah will protect me." Ibn Mas`uud went to the Maqaam at the Ka`bah and recited " In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, The Most Beneficent! Has taught the Qur'aan... " and he went on reciting. The Quraish gazed at him and said, "What does Ibn Umm `Abd say? He is reciting some of what Muhammad came with." They went to him and began to beat him in the face while he was reciting till he finished whatever Allah wished him to recite from the surah. He returned to his friends with a wounded face and body, and they told him, "This is what we were afraid would happen to you." He answered them, `Those enemies of Allah have never been more worthless to me than this moment, and if you wish I will go back to them and do the same tomorrow." They said, "No, it is enough for you. You have made them hear what they hated."

Indeed, when lbn Mas'uud was fascinated by the sheep's udder which was filled with milk before its time, he did not realize that he and his humble friends would be one of the greater miracles of the Prophet (PBUH) on the day they carried the banner of Allah, with which they outshone the sun. He did not realize that such a day was very near. Soon that day came, and the poor, hired boy became a miracle!

He was hardly seen in the crowd of life and not even seen away from that crowd because he was too humble when compared with those who possessed wealth, power, and social status. Financially, he was poor. Physically, he was feeble, and socially, he was a nobody. But Islam compensated him for his poverty with a large share of the treasures of Khosrau and Caesar. Islam also compensated him for his physical weakness with a strong will that conquered the oppressors and helped to change the whole historical course of events. Again, Islam compensated his humble social status through immortality, knowledge, and honor that gave him an eminent place among the most prominent of historical figures.

The Prophet's prophecy about him which said, "You are a learned boy" was true. Indeed, Allah endowed him with knowledge till he became the most learned of this Ummah and the best one to know Qur'aan by heart. Ibn Mas'uud described himself saying, "I in fact took from the mouth of Allah's Messenger more than seventy surahs of the Qur'aan. I have a better understanding of the Book of Allah than any one of you."

It could be that Allah wanted to reward him for risking his life when he used to recite Qur'aan everywhere during the years of torture. So, He the Almighty endowed him with a wonderful talent for reciting and understanding Qur'aan to the extent that made the Prophet (PBUH) direct his Companions to follow his example. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Stick to the method of Ibn Umm `Abd." He recommended that they imitate his way of reciting and learn it from him. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Whoever wants to hear Qur'aan as fresh as it was revealed, let him hear it from lbn Umm `Abd," and said, "Whoever wants to read Qur'aan as fresh as it was revealed, let him read it in the way Ibn Umm Abd does."

It was a pleasure for the Prophet (PBUH) to hear Qur'aan being recited from the mouth of lbn Mas'uud. The Prophet (PBUH) once called on him and said, "Recite to me, Abd Allah," and `Abd Allah said, "How can I recite to you when it was revealed to you?" The Prophet (PBUH) said, "I like to hear it from others." Thereupon lbn Mas'uud started reading part of Surat An-Nisaa' till he reached the verse: "How (will it be) then, when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you as a witness against those people. On that day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that they were buried in the earth, but they will never be able to hide a single fact from Allah " (4: 41-42). Upon hearing this, the Prophet's eyes flooded with tears and he waved to lbn Mas'uud saying, "Enough, enough, lbn Mas'uud."

Ibn Mas'uud himself talked proudly about Allah's bounty upon him. "By Allah, there is no surah in the Book of Allah about which I do not know where and in what context it was revealed. I have a better understanding of the Book of Allah than you do, and if I were to know that someone had a better understanding than I and I could reach him on the back of a mule, I would definitely go to him on a camel's back, but I am not better than you are."

The Prophet's Companions witnessed this for him. The Commander of the Faithful `Umar lbn Al-Kattaab said about him," He was filled with knowledge." Also Abu Muusaa Al- Ash'ariy said about him, "Don't ask me about any matter as long as you have this scholar among you." He was not only praised for his knowledge of Qur'aan and jurisprudence, but also for his piety and God consciousness. Hudhaifah said about him, "I have never seen anyone more like the Prophet (PBUH) in his way of life and characteristics than Ibn Mas'uud." He also said, "The lucky Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) realized that Ibn Umm `Abd is the nearest one of them to Allah."

One day a number of Companions were gathered at the house of `Aliy lbn Abi Taalib and said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, we have never seen a man who is more virtuous, more learned, more companionable, friendly, and God-fearing than `Abd Allah Ibn Mas'uud." `Aliy said, "I beg you by Allah, is this true from your hearts?" They said, "Yes." `Aliy said, "O Allah, I testify in front of You that I say about him like what they said and more. He read the Qur'aan and did what is lawful in it and avoided what is forbidden. He was knowledgeable in religion and scholarly in Sunnah."

The Prophet's Companions said about him, "He was admitted to the company of the Prophet (PBUH), whereas we were detained, and he was present in his company, whereas we were absent." This means he used to have more privileges than the others. He used to enter the Prophet's house and sit with him more than anybody else. He was the one the Prophet (PBUH) entrusted with his secrets to the extent that he was entitled "The Secretary."

Abu Muusaa Al-Ash'ariy (May Allah be pleased with him) said in this context, "I came to Allah's Messenger (PBUH) and thought that lbn Mas'uud was among the members of his family." This means that the Prophet (PBUH) loved him dearly for his piety and intelligence. He said about him, "If I were to appoint a commander without consulting the Muslims, I would have appointed lbn Umm `Abd," and as mentioned before, the Prophet (PBUH) asked his Companions to "Stick to the method of lbn Umm Abd."

He was so near to the Prophet (PBUH) and so trusted by him that he was given more privileges than anyone else was given. The Prophet (PBUH) told him, "My permission to you is that you may raise the curtains." This indicates his being allowed to knock at the Prophet's door at any time during the day or night. This is why the Companions said, "He was admitted to the company of the Prophet (PBUH), whereas we were detained, and he was present in his company, whereas we were absent."

He was really up to this standard. Although such a close relationship could have created some sort of intimacy, Ibn Mas'uud's attitude towards the Prophet (PBUH) was always one of respect and politeness. This was even after the Prophet's death. Although he seldom mentioned the Prophet (PBUH) after his death, in most cases when he did mention him, he began to tremble and shake, and all the signs of worry and perplexity appeared on him. This occurred whenever his lips began to murmur, "I heard the Prophet (PBUH) say lest he should forget or change one single letter of what was said.

Let us hear what his brothers in Islam said about such behavior. `Amr Ibn Maimuun reported, "I was frequently visited by lbn Mas'uud for about a year, during which time I did not hear him speak about the Prophet (PBUH). But one day he was talking and he uttered, "The Prophet (PBUH) said..." At this moment he was badly troubled and started to sweat and corrected himself, "The Prophet (PBUH) said something like that."

`Alqamah Ibn Qais reported, "lbn Mas'uud used to speak to people every Thursday night. I never heard him saying, "The Prophet (PBUH) said," but he once said it and he was leaning on a stick that started to shake in his hand.

Also, Masruuq narrated on the authority of Abd Allah, "One day Ibn Mas'uud was speaking and he said, "I heard the Prophet (PBUH). . ." On this he and his clothes started to shake. Then he corrected himself, `something like this."

Thus the veneration of the Prophet (PBUH) in his heart was that great, and this was a sign of his intelligence. Such a man, who accompanied the Prophet (PBUH) more than anybody else, was the best to realize how great the Prophet (PBUH) was. Therefore, he maintained the same manner concerning him during his life and after his death.

* * *

lbn Mas'uud never missed the company of the Prophet (PBUH) either while traveling or at home. He participated in all the battles, and on the Day of Badr his role was significant, especially with Abu Jahl. The Prophet's (PBUH) caliphs, were also fully aware of his proper value. The Commander of the Faithful `Umar lbn Al-Kataab appointed him as director of the treasury (Bait Al-Maal) in Kufa and he said to the people there, "By Allah, there is no god but He. You know that I have given you a preference over myself when I sent him to you to learn from him."

The people of Kufa liked him as they never liked anyone before him. It was a real miracle that the whole people of Kufa agreed on liking somebody because they were known to be a people of rebellion and mutiny. They hardly agreed on one kind of food, and they did not tolerate peace and tranquillity. Their love for him was so great that when the Caliph `Uthmaan (May Allah be pleased with him) wanted to discharge him of his office, they surrounded him and said, "Stay with us and don't go. We will protect you against anything that you don't like." But lbn Mas'uud gave them an answer that really reflected his greatness and piety. He said, "He has the right of obedience on me. There will be turbulence coming and I hate to be the first to open the door to it."

This wonderful situation discloses to us the nature of the relationship between Ibn Mas'uud and `Uthmaan. They had an argument and a disagreement between them which ended with the caliph cutting Ibn Mas'uud's salary from the Bait Al-Maal. In return, lbn Mas'uud never spoke ill of the caliph. On the contrary, he used to defend him. When he heard about the attempted assassinations on `Uthmaan, he said his famous words, "If they kill him they will not find anyone like him to succeed ." Some of lbn Mas'uud's friends said, "We never heard him uttering a bad word about `Uthmaan." Allah endowed lbn Aas'uud with wisdom along with his piety.

He had an insight that enabled him to see facts beyond the surface, and the capability to express such facts in an intelligent style. For example, he summarized the life of `Umar lbn Al-Khattaab in one concise sentence: " `Umar's Islam was an opening, his Hijrah was a victory, and his rule was a mercy.

He once expressed the idea of the relativity of time saying, "Your Lord does not have day or night because the light of the earth and the skies is but from the light of His face."

In another context he praised the value of work in raising the social standard of man: "I hate a man living in leisure with nothing to do, either for his worldly life or the life to come. The next is a comprehensive phrase: "The best wealth is the wealth of the soul. The best provision is right conduct. The most major of sins is lying, the most evil earning is usury, and the most evil of what can be eaten is eating up the property of orphans. Whoever excuses others, will be excused by Allah, and whoever forgives others will be forgiven by others."

* * *

That was `Abd Allah lbn Mas'uud, the Prophet's (PBUH) Companion, and that is but one glimpse of the heroic life he lived in the way of Allah, His Prophet and His religion. That was the man who had been as small as a bird. He was so thin and short that he was the same height as a sitting person. He had very thin legs. He once climbed a tree to pick some arak sticks for the Prophet (PBUH), and when the Companions saw how thin his legs were they laughed. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Are you laughing at Ibn Mas`uud's legs? On Allah's scales of justice they are heavier than the mountain of Uhud." Indeed that was the poor, weak hired boy who became by faith an Imam (leader) guiding people to the light.

It was Allah's bounty on him that he was counted among the first ten Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) who were promised to enter Paradise while they were still alive. He participated in all the victorious wars with the Prophet (PBUH) and his caliphs. He witnessed how the two greatest empires opened their gates in submission to the banners of Islam. He saw the high positions and lucrative money pouring into the hands of the Muslims, but his mind was never obsessed by such matters. Instead, he was pre-occupied with how to fulfil the pledge he offered to the Prophet (PBUH), and he was also never tempted to give up the life of humbleness and self- denial that he used to lead. He had only one wish that he dreamed all his life might come true.

Let us hear him speaking about it: While I was with the Prophet (PBUH) at the Battle of Tabuuk, I woke up at midnight to see a flame of fire near the place of the army. I followed it and found the Prophet (PBUH), Abu Bakr and `Umar digging a grave to bury `Abd Allah Dhul Bijaadain Al-Muzaniy who died at the time. The Prophet (PBUH) was in the grave and asked Abu Bakr and `Umar, "hand your brother to me," and they did. After he put his body in the grave he said, "O Allah, in this night I am fully satisfied and pleased with him. So be you pleased with him." I wished I was the one being buried in that hole.

This was his sole wish in his life. It was not related to what people were racing at in this life, such as wealth, social status or glory. It was the wish of a man who possessed a kind heart, a noble soul, and a strong faith. Such a man was guided by Allah, educated by the Prophet (PBUH), and enlightened by Qur'aan.

(13)
HUDHAIFAH IBN AL-YAMMAAN

The Enemy of Hypocrisy, The Friend of Frankness




The people of Madaa`in came out in great numbers to welcome their new governor chosen by their Caliph `Umar (May Allah be pleased with him). They came out preceded by their interest in that graceful Companion. They had heard much about his good conduct, his piety, and more so about his great achievement in the conquest of Iraq.

While they were waiting for the coming procession, they saw before them a bright fellow riding on a donkey with an old saddle. The man was riding with his legs hanging and holding a loaf of bread and some salt in his hands, and eating and chewing his food. When he came in the midst of the people and they discovered he was Hudhaifah lbn Al-Yammaan, the expected governor, they were about to lose their wits! But why the surprise? Who did they expect the choice of `Umar would be ? In fact, they were not to blame. Their countries had not been accustomed since Persian days or even before to having rulers of with such graceful style.

Hudhaifah was surrounded and welcomed by numerous people. When he saw that they were gazing at him as if expecting a speech, he looked at them closely and said, "Beware of sedition!" They asked, "What is sedition, Abu Abd Allah?" "The gates of rulers," he said. `When one of you is admitted to the presence of the ruler or governor and falsely agrees with what he says and commends him for what he has not done."

It was a wonderful start, as much as it was surprising. People at once remembered what they had heard about their new governor and that he did not detest anything in the whole world as much as he detested and scorned hypocrisy. Such a beginning was the truest expression concerning the character of the new governor and his way of ruling and governing.

* * *

As a matter of fact, Hudhaifah lbn Al-Yammaan was a man who came to life equipped with a unique characteristic in detesting hypocrisy and in having the remarkable capability to detect it in its distant, concealed places. He and his brother safwaan came to the Prophet (PBUH) accompanied by their father and all embraced Islam. He added more sharpness and polish to his inborn qualities from the time he embraced a powerful, clean, brave, and straightforward religion which scorns cowardice, hypocrisy, and lies. Moreover, he learned his manners at the hands of the Messenger (PBUH) who was as clear as the glorious morning light. Nothing was hidden in his life nor in his inner self. He was truthful and trustworthy. He liked the strong in righteousness and detested those who were not straightforward, i.e. the hypocrites and deceivers. Therefore, there was no realm where his talent could bloom and blossom more than it did under the guidance of faith at the hands of the Messenger and among that generation of his great Companions. Verily, his talent grew and developed, and he specialized in reading faces and probing into the inner selves. At a glance he could easily read faces and know the secret of the hidden depths and concealed inner mysteries. He attained what he wanted in that realm to the extent that the inspired, intelligent, and resourceful Caliph `Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) used to ask Hudhaifah's opinion and insight in selecting and knowing men.

Hudhaifah possessed the discretion that made him realize that what is good in this world is obvious to whoever seeks it, and that evil is the thing that is disguised and hidden. Therefore, the intelligent person should be discreet in studying evil in its hidden and apparent forms.

Hudhaifah (May Allah be pleased with him) therefore devoted his time to the study of evil and evil doers, as well as hypocrisy and hypocrites. He reported: People used to ask Allah's Prophet (PBUH) about good, but I used to ask him about evil, for fear that it should overtake me. I said, "O Messenger of Allah, we were in ignorant and evil times, then Allah presented us with this good. Will there be evil after this good?" He said, "Yes." I said, "And after this evil, will there be good?" He said, "Yes but it would be tainted with evil (literally, smoke)." I asked, "What will this evil be?" He said, "There will be some people who will lead (people) according to principles other than my tradition. You will see their actions and disapprove of them." I said, "Will there be any evil after that good?" He said, "Yes, there will be some people who will invite others to the doors of Hell, and whoever accepts their invitation to it will be thrown in it (by them)." I said, "O Messenger of Allah! Describe those people to us." He said, "They will belong to us and speak our language." I asked, "What do you order me to do if such a thing should take place in my life?" He said, "Adhere to the group of Muslims and their chief." I asked, "If there is neither a group (of Muslims) nor a chief, what shall I do?" He said, "Keep away from all those different sects, even if you have to eat the roots of a tree, till you meet Allah while you are still in that state."

Note his statement, "People used to ask Allah's Prophet (PBUH) about good, but I used to ask him about evil, for fear that it should overtake me." Hudhaifah lbn Al-Yammaan lived open- eyed and insightful with regards to temptations and the paths of evil so that he might avoid them and warn people of them. This gave him insight of the world, experience with people, and knowledge of the times. He would contemplate matters in his mind as a philosopher would and with the sound judgment of a wise man.

He said (May Allah be pleased with him): "Almighty Allah sent Muhammad (PBUH) to call people from misguidance to the right path, and from disbelief to belief in Allah. Some responded to his call, following the right way. Those who were dead were raised to life and those who were alive died because of their evil doing. When the period of prophethood was over, caliphates followed the same methods. Then there appeared a detested monarchy. There were people who disavowed with their hearts, hands, and tongues, and who responded to the path of justice. There were those who disavowed with their hearts and tongues but abstained from using their hands. Thus they left out an area of justice. There were also those who disavowed with their hearts, abstaining to use their hands or tongues. Thus they left out two areas of justice. There were those who did not disavow, neither with their hearts, nor with their hands or tongues, and those were the dead in life!

He talked about hearts and a life of guidance or misguidance according to the heart. He said: There are four kinds of hearts: a locked heart, which is the heart of the disbeliever; a duplicitous heart, which is the heart of the hypocrite; a pure heart full of light, which is the heart of the believer; and a heart filled with hypocrisy and faith. Its faith is like a tree supplied with good water, but like hypocrisy because it is like an ulcer filled with pus and blood. Whichever is made will win.

Hudhaifah's experience of evil and his persistence in resisting and challenging it sharpened his tongue and words. He himself informed us about this in a noble hadith: I approached the Prophet (PBUH) and said,

"O Messenger of Allah, I have an abusing tongue towards my people, and I am afraid it might lead me to the fire of Hell." The Prophet (PBUH) said to me, "Do you ask Allah's forgiveness? I repent to Allah a hundred times a day."

That was Hudhaifah, the enemy of hyprocrisy and the friend of frankness. For a man of this character, his faith had to be strong and his loyalty intense. That was Hudhaifah's way, in respect to faith and loyalty. He witnessed his father die as a Muslim in the battle of Uhud, killed in error by Muslim hands, mistaking him for one of the unbelievers.

Hudhaifah was looking around when by chance he saw the swords hitting him, so he called to his attackers, "My father! My father! He's my father!" But it was too late. When the Muslims heard about this incident they were grieved, but Hudhaifah looked at them with mercy and forgiveness and said, "May Allah forgive you. He is the Most Merciful." He then went forward with his sword towards the battle, doing his best and performing his duty.
When the battle ended and the Prophet (PBUH) heard the news, he ordered that blood money be paid for the death of Hudhaifah's father, Husail lbn Jaabir (May Allah be pleased with him). Hudhaifah refused to take the money and gave it as alms to the Muslims, an act which made the Prophet (PBUH) love and appreciate him even more.

* * *
Hudhaifah's faith and loyalty refused to acknowledge inability and weakness, or even the impossible. In the Battle of Al-Khandaq and after the failure of the unbelievers of the Quraish and their Jewish allies, the Prophet (PBUH) wanted to know the latest developments in the enemy camp.

The night was black and terrifying, and a storm was raging as if it wanted to uproot the solid mountains of the desert. The whole situation which included a siege, stubbornness and perserverance brought about fear and anxiety. In addition, hunger had reached a high level among the Companions of the Prophet. Therefore, who would have the strength to go amidst the dark dangers of the enemy camp and penetrate it to gather intelligence and news?

The Messenger (PBUH) was the one who selected him from among his Companions as the one to perform such a difficult task. Who was that hero? It was Hudhaifah lbn Al-Yammaan. The Prophet (PBUH) asked him and he obeyed.

He admitted with great candor in relating the incident that he had no choice but to obey, thus implying that he feared the mission being assigned to him. He was afraid of its consequences. His fear was due to performing this mission under the pinch of hunger, cold weather, and extreme exhaustion that resulted from the siege by the disbelievers that had lasted a month or more.

What happened to Hudhaifah that night was amazing. He covered the distance between the two armies and penetrated the surrounding enemy camp of the Quraish. A violent wind had put out the camp's fires, so the place was enveloped in darkness. Hudhaifah took his place amidst the lines of the fighters. The leader of the Quraish, Abu Sufyaan, was afraid that darkness might surprise them with scouts from the Muslim camp. He stood to warn his army, and Hudhaifah heard his loud voice saying, "O people of the Quraish, each one of you should know who is sitting next to him and should know his name." Hudhaifah reports, "I hastened to the hand of the man next to me, and said to him, Who are you? He said, `Such and such a person!'"

He therefore secured his being with the army in peace! Abu Sufyaan resumed his talk to the army, saying,

"O people of the Quraish, by Allah, you are not in a place to settle. The horses and the camels are exhausted. The tribe of Bani Quraidah has reneged on us and we learned about them what we hate, and we suffer from the violent wind as you see. No food can be cooked, no fire can blaze for us, and no structure can hold. You have to leave, for I am leaving." He then mounted his camel and started moving, followed by the fighters.

Hudhaifah said, "But for the promise I gave Allah's Messenger (PBUH), who asked me not to do anything until I returned to him, I would have killed him with an arrow." Hudhaifah then returned to the Messenger (PBUH) and gave him the information and happy news.

* * *

Whoever saw Hudhaifah and considered his way of thinking, his philosophy, and his devotion to knowledge could hardly expect any heroism from him in the battlefield. Nevertheless, Hudhaifah contradicted all expectations.

The man who used to worship Allah in solitude, the contemplative one, no sooner did he carry his sword and meet the ignorant pagan army than he disclosed a genius that caught the eyes. Suffice it to know that he was one of only three or five who had the great privilege of invading all the cities of Iraq. In Hamdaan, Ar-Raiy Ad-Dainawar, the conquest was accomplished through him.

In the great Battle of Nahaawand, in which the Persians gathered about 150,000 fighters, Caliph `Umar, the Commander of the Faithful, chose for the leadership of the Muslim armies An Nu'maan lbn Muqrin, then wrote to Hudhaifah to march to him leading an army from Kufa.

`Umar sent his letter to the fighters, saying, "When the Muslims gather, let every commander lead his army, and let An- Nu'maan lbn Muqrin be the commander-in -chief of all the armies. If An-Nu'maan is martyred, let Hudhaifah be the leader. If he is martyred, let Jarir Ibn `Abd Allah lead them."

In this way, the Commander of the Faithful went on choosing the leaders of the battle till he named seven of them. Then the two armies met.

The Persians were 150,000, while the Muslims were only 30,000. A battle which exceeded all others commenced. It was the fiercest in history, in terms of violence and heroism. The leader of the Muslim army, An-Nu'maan Ibn Muqrin fell in the battle and was martyred, but before the standard of the Muslims fell to the ground, the new leader caught it with his right hand, and with it he led the wind of victory with vigor and great herosim. This leader was none but Hudhaifah Ibn Al-Yammaan.

At once he held the standard and chose not to announce the news of the death of An-Nu'maan until the battle was over. He called Na`iim lbn Muqrin to be in the place of his brother to honor him.

How he achieved all this in no time, in the heart of the great battle, was through his bright intuition. Then he turned like a violent tempest wind towards the Persian lines shouting, "Allahu akbar! Allah is the greatest! His Promise is fulfilled! Allahu akbar! He led His soldiers to victory!" Then he turned the head of his horse towards the fighters of his army and called, "O you followers of Muhammad (PBUH), here are Allah's Gardens ready to receive you, do not let them wait long. Come on, men of the Battle of Badr Proceed, O you heroes of the Battle of Al-Khandaq, Uhud, and Tabuuk!"

Hudhaifah kept all the enthusiasm and interest of the battle, if not more. The fighting ended in overwhelming defeat for the Persians, an unmatched defeat!


* * *

That was his genius in wisdom when he remained in his rooms and genius in fighting when he stood on the battlefield. He was also a genius in each mission assigned to him and each advice asked of him.

When Sa'd lbn Abi Waqqaas and the Muslims with him moved from Madaa'in to Kufa and settled there after the great harm that had afflicted the Muslim Arabs due to Madaa'in's climate, `Umar wrote to Sa'd to leave at once after the most suitable sites for Muslims to resettle were found. Who was deputed, to choose the site and the place? It was Hudhaifah Ibn Al Yammaan, accompanied by Salmaan Ibn Ziyaad who sought a suitable place for Muslims.

When they reached the land of Kufa, it was a barren, sandy land, full of pebbles, but Hudhaifah smelled the breezes of healing and health. He said to his companion, "This place, Allah willing." That was how Kufa was planned, and the hands of construction turned it into an inhabited city. As soon as the Muslims emigrated there, their sick were cured, their weak became strong, and their veins were filled with the pulse of health.

Hudhaifah was very intelligent and had various experiences.

He always used to say to the Muslims, "Your best are not those who neglect this world for the last, nor those who neglect the last for this world. The best are those who take from this and that."

* * *
One day in the year A.H. 36, he was called to meet his Lord. While he was getting ready for the last journey, some of his companions came to see him. He asked them, "Have you brought a shroud with you?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Show it to me." When he saw it, he found it was new and too long. One last sarcastic grin was drawn on his lips, and he said, "This is not a shroud for me. Two white wraps without a shirt are sufficient for me. I will not be left in the grave for a long time, but will be offered a better place or a worse one!"

He then murmured a few words which, when they listened to them, they discerned the following: "Welcome O death! A dear thing coming after longing. The one who repents now prospers not."

One of the best human souls was raised to Allah, one the most pious, illuminating, and humble spirits.

(14)
AMMAAR IBN YAASIR

A Man of Paradise!




If there were people born in Paradise, reared and brought to maturity there, and then brought to earth to adorn and enlighten it, then `Ammaar, his mother Sumaiyah and his father Yaasir would be of them!

But why do we say "if" and why do we make that condition when Yaasir's family were really of Paradise? Allah's Messenger (PBUH) was not merely pacifying them when he said, "Patience, O Yaasir's family. Verily, your meeting place will be in Paradise." He was declaring a fact which he knew and reiterating an actuality perceived by him.

* * *

`Ammaar's father, Yaasir lbn Aamir, left his native place in Yemen seeking a brother of his. In Makkah he found an appealing place, so he settled there and was in alliance with Abu hudhaifah Ibn Al-Mughirah, who married him to one of his slave women, Sumaiyah Bint khaiyaat. Out of this blessed marriage Allah granted the parents a son, Ammaar. Their embracing of Islam was early, like that of the righteous ones guided by Allah. And like the early righteous Muslims as well, they had their good share of the Quraish's persecution and terror.

The Quraish used to waylay the believers to attack them. If the believers were among the honorable and noble people in their community, the Quraish would pursue them with threats and menace. Abu Jahl would meet one of the believers and tell him, " You abandoned your forefathers' religion and they were better than you. We will spoil your character, degrade your honor, reduce your trade, and exhaust your money." They would then launch a heated war of nerves upon him.

If the believers were among the weak, poor, or slaves of Makkah, then the Quraish would burn them with the fire of persecution.

Yaasir's family belonged to that class. The order for their persecution was handed to Bani Makhzuum. They used to take them all - Yaasir, Sumaiyah and `Ammaar - to the burning desert of Makkah, where they would pour upon them different kinds of the hell of torture.

Sumaiyah's share of that torment was colossal and terrible. We shall not elaborate about her now, since we shall have - Allah willing - another encounter with her and her likes during those immortal days to talk about the grace of sacrifice and the glory of her firmness. Suffice it to mention now, without any exaggeration, that Sumaiyah, the martyred one, maintained a firm stance that day which gives the whole of humanity an everlasting honor and an ever glorious dignity. Her stance made of her a great mother to believers in all ages, and to the honorable people of all times.

* * *

The Messenger (PBUH) used to go where he knew Yaasir's family were tortured. He did not have at that time any means of resistance or keeping harm from them. This was Allah's will, because the new faith - the faith of lbraahiim Al-Hanufan (Abraham the true) - which was revealed to Muhammad was not a casual and passing reform movement. It was a way of life for the whole humanity of believers who had to inherit along with the religion all its history of heroism, sacrifices, and risks. These abundant noble sacrifices are the cement and the foundation that grant an everlasting firmness and immortality to the faith and the creed. It is the fragrance that fills the hearts of believers with loyalty, joy, and happiness. It is the lighthouse that guides the coming generations to the reality of religion, to its truth and greatness.

Therefore, Islam had to make its sacrifices and have its victims, the meaning of which is illustrated and illuminated in more than one verse of the Qur'aan for the Muslims. Allah says: "Do the people think that they will be left to say: "We believe", and they shall not be tried?" (29 : 2).

"Do you think that you will enter Paradise before Allah tests those of you who fought (in His Cause) and (also) tests those who remained patient?" (3:142).

"And we indeed tested those who were before them. And Allah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allah knows all that before putting them to test)" (29 : 3).

"Do you think you shall be left alone while Allah has not yet tested those among you who have striven hard..." (9 : 16).

"Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good." (3 179).

"And what you suffered (of the disaster) on the day (of the Battle of Uhud when) the two armies met, was by the leave of Allah, in order that He might test the believers" (3 : 166).

* * *





That is true. This was the way the Qur'aan taught its bearers and descendants that sacrifice is the essence of faith and that resistance of unjust, oppressive challenges is through firmness, patience, and persistence, which form the best and the most superb virtues of faith.

Therefore, this religion of Allah, when it was laying down its foundation, establishing its principles, and giving its models and examples, had to support and purify itself with sacrifice. In carrying out this great mission, a number of its disciples, supporters, and righteous people were chosen to be lofty models and elevated examples for the coming believers.

Sumaiyah, Yaasir and `Ammaar were of this great and blessed group, chosen by Islam's destiny to make of their sacrifices, firmness, and persistence a document of Islam's greatness and immortality.

* * *

We said that Allah's Messenger (PBUH) used to go out every day to Yaasir's family, commending their fortitude and heroism. His big heart was melting out of mercy and kindness to see them so severely tortured. One day while he was looking for them, `Ammaar called to him, "O Messenger of Allah, we are suffering from extreme torment." The Messenger called to him saying, "Patience, Abu Yaqdhaan, patience O Yaasir's family. Verily, your meeting place will be in Paradise."

`Ammaar's companions described the torture that was inflicted upon him in many of their reports. `Amr lbn Al-jiakam, for instance, said, "`Ammaar used to be tortured so much that he would not be aware of what he was saying." `Amr lbn Maimuun said, "The polytheists scorched `Ammaar lbn Yaasir with fire, and Allah's Messenger (PBUH) used to pass by him, pass his hand over Yaasir's head and say,. "O fire, be cool and peaceful on `Ammaar, as you were cool and peaceful on lbraahiim."

Despite that overwhelming terror, it did not vanquish `Ammaar's spirit, though it overburdened his back and strained his strength.

`Ammaar did not feel utterly ruined except on that day when his executioners employed all their devilry in crime and injustice. They burned his skin with fire, laid him on the heated sands of the desert under the burning stones, ducked him in water until he could hardly breathe and until his wounds and gashes were skinned. On that day, when he fell unconscious under the effect of that horror, they said to him, "Say something good about our gods." They kept saying things which he repeated without being conscious of what he was saying.

When he became slightly conscious after he had fainted due to their torture, he remembered what he had said and was mad about it. This slip became so concrete to him that he saw it as an unforgivable sin which could not be atoned for. In a few moments his feeling of guilt made him suffer so much that the torture of the polytheists seemed to him a blessing and a balm.

If he had been left to such feelings for a few hours, they would have destroyed him. He was enduring the dreadful anguish of the body because his spirit was lofty, but now when he thought defeat had reached his spirit, he was overburdened with worries and fear of death and destruction. But Almighty Allah willed that the final, exciting scene would come to its dignified end. An angel stretched out its blessed right hand, shook the hand of Ammaar and called to him, "Get up, O hero! There is no blame or embarrassment for you."

When Allah's Messenger (PBUH) met him, he found him crying. He kept wiping his tears and telling Ammaar, "The polytheists took you, ducked your head in water, and you said such and such a thing?" `Ammaar answered him, still crying, "Ye, O Messenger of Allah." Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said then while smiling, "If they repeat it, say the same thing." Then he recited the glorious Qur'aanic verse:". . . except him who is forced thereto and whose heart is at rest with Faith.. "(16: 106)

Ammaar's tranquility was restored, he no longer felt pain when they punished him, and he no longer cared about it. His spirit conquered and his faith conquered. The Qur'aan had included this blessed transaction, so whatever happened, happened.

Ammaar remained steadfast until his tormenters were exhausted and they retreated, yielding to his determination.





* * *

The Muslims settled in Al-Madiinah after the Hijrah of their Messenger (PBUH). The Islamic community there began to take shape very fast and complete itself. Within that group of believers, `Ammaar was allocated a dignified position. Allah's Messenger loved him greatly and used to boast among his Companions about Ammaar's faith and guidance. He said about him, "Verily, `Ammaar is filled to the bones with faith."

When a slight misunderstanding happened between khaalid lbn Al-Waliid and `Ammaar, the Messenger (PBUH) said, "Whoever antagonizes Ammaar is antagonized by Allah, and whoever detests `Ammaar is detested by Allah." Thereupon, Khaalid Ibn Al-Waliid, Islam's hero, had to hasten to Ammaar, apologizing to him and hoping for his sincere forgiveness.

When the Messenger (PBUH) and his Companions were building the mosque in Al-Madiinah, after their arrival there, Imam Aliy (May Allah glorify his face) composed a song and kept on repeating it with other Muslims, saying:

He who frequents the mosques,

Remaining there standing and sitting,
Is not equal to the one who keeps away from dust.

`Ammaar was working at the side of the mosque, so he kept repeating the song, raising his voice. One of his companions thought that Ammaar was disparaging him. He therefore said some angry words, which angered the Messenger of Allah, and he said, "What is their business with `Ammaar? He calls them to Heaven and they call him to Hell. To me, `Ammaar is but a skin between my eyes and my nose.

When the Messenger of Allah loves a man that much, this man's faith, his accomplishment, his loyalty, his grace, his conscience, and manner have reached the top and ended at the pinnacle of allowed perfection.

That was `Ammaar. Allah had granted him abundant blessings and guidance. In the level of guidance and certitude, he reached a great height which made the Messenger (PBUH) commend his faith and raise him among the Companions as a model and an example, saying, "Take the examples of the two succeeding me, Abu Bakr and `Umar, and follow the guidance of "Ammaar. The narraters described him, saying, `He was tall, with bluish-black eyes, broad- shouldered, among the most silent of the people and the least talkative."

How did the life of that giant proceed, the silent, bluish-black-eyed, broad-shouldered man whose body bore the scars of the horrible torture and, at the same tim, the document of his amazing steadfastness and his extraordinary greatness?

How did the life of that loyal disciple, the true believer, the overawing sacrificer proceed?

He witnessed with his tutor and messenger all the battles: Badr, Uhud, Al-Khandaq and Tabuuk and others. When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) passed away, the outstanding Companion continued his march. At the meeting of Muslims with Persians, with Romans, and, before that, at their meeting with the army of apostates, `Ammaar was always there in the first line, an honest, brave soldier who did not miss an opportunity.

He was a pious believer. No desire would take him away from Allah. When the Commander of the Faithful `Umar lbn Al-Khattaab chose governors for the Muslims meticulously and with reservation, his eyes usually fell on `Ammaar Ibn Yaasir in complete trust. That was how he hastened to him and made him the governor of Kufa, and made Ibn Mas'uud in charge with him of its treasury (Bait Al-Maal). He then wrote to the people of Kufa heralding the new governor and said, "I send you `Ammaar lbn Yaasir as a governor, and lbn Mas`uud as a teacher and a minister. They are of the distinguished people of Muhammad's Companions, and of the people of Badr." During his rule, `Ammaar followed a way which was hard for worldly people to endure so that they turned against him, or were about to. His rule made him more modest, more pious, and more ascetic.

One of his contemporaries in Kufa, Ibn Abi Hudhail said about him, "I saw `Ammaar Ibn Yaasir when he was the governer of Kufa buying some vegetables. He tied them with a rope and carried them on his shoulders and went home."

One of the public said to him when he was the governor of Kufa, "O you whose ear is cut off." He was scorning him because of his ear which had been cut off by the swords of the apostates during the Yamaamah War. The governor, in whose hands was the power of rule, merely said to his insulter, "You insulted the best part of my ear. It was injured in the cause of Allah."

It is true. It was injured in the cause of Allah on the Day of Yamaamah, which was one of `Ammaar's glorious days. This giant set out in stormy courage to annihilate the soldiers in the army of Musailamah the Liar, offering death and destruction. When he perceived a lack of enthusiasm among the Muslims, he sent his quaking shouts which pushed them as shot arrows.

`Abd Allah Ibn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I saw `Ammaar Ibn Yaasir on the Day of Yamaamah on a rock shouting, "O you Muslim people, are you running away from Paradise? I am `Ammaar lbn Yaasir, come to me." When I looked at him, I found his ear cut off and swinging while he was fighting fiercely.
If there is anyone who has his doubts concerning Muhammad (FBUH), the truthful Messenger and the perfect teacher, let him halt in front of these examples of his disciples and Companions and ask himself, "Is it possible for anyone to produce that refined style except a noble messenger and a great teacher?" If they were involved in a fight for Allah's cause, they hastened as if they were looking for death, not only for victory. If they were caliphs and rulers, the caliph went himself to milk the orphans' sheep and make their bread, as Abu Bakr and Umar did. If they were governors, they carried their food on their backs, tied with a rope, as `Ammaar did, or gave up their pay and set to making baskets and vessels out of plaited palm leaves, as Salmaan did. Should we not bow in salutation and respect to the faith that produced them and to the Messenger who raised them, and before all that to Almighty Allah Who chose them for that, guided them to it, and made them pioneers to the best nation of people on earth?

* * *

Hudhaifah Ibn Al-yammaan, the expert in the inner language, the language of the heart, was preparing to meet Allah and suffering from the agony of death when his companions surrounding him asked, "To whom should we go, if people differ?" Hudhaifah answered in his last words, "You should turn to Ibn Sumaiyah because he will not part from truth until death."

Yes, `Ammaar would turn with the truth wherever it went. Now while we trace his blessed direction and follow the landmarks of his great life, let us approach a momentous scene. But before watching that grand and graceful scene in its glory and perfection, in its sincerity and persistence, let us watch another scene preceding, foreshadowing, and preparing for it.

That scene was following the Muslims' settlement in Al Madiinah. The honest Messenger (PBUH) rose, surrounded by his righteous Companions, with unkempt hair and full of dust. They were establishing Allah's house and building His mosque. Their faithful hearts were filled with joy, glowed with delight, and murmured their thanks to Allah.

All were working in happiness and hope, carrying stone, mixing mortar, and erecting the building. There was a team here, another team over there. The happy horizon echoed the singing with which they raised with overjoyed voices: "If we stayed while the Prophet worked, it would be misguided work of ours." They sang in that manner, then their voices were raised in another song: "O Allah, living is but in the next world, then have mercy on the Ansaar and the Muhaajiruun!" Then a third song was raised:

He who frequents the mosques,

Remaining there standing and sitting,
Is not equal to the one who keeps away from dust.

They were cells working, Allah's soldiers, carrying His banner and erecting His building. The honest and kind Messenger was with them, carrying the heaviest of the stones and performing the hardest work. Their singing voices reflected the delight of their satisfied souls. Heaven above them filled the earth that bore them with delight, and bright life was witnessing its best celebrations.

`Ammaar Ibn Yaasir was there amidst the celebration, carrying the heavy stones from their quarries to their positions. When the guided mercy, Muhammad the Messenger of Allah saw him, he sympathized greatly with him. He approached him and removed the dust from his head with his kind hand. With looks filled with the light of Allah, he contemplated his innocent, faithful face and said in front of all the Companions. "Alas for Ibn Sumaiyah, killed by the tyrant group."

The foretelling was repeated once again when a wall `Ammaar was working beneath fell, and some brethren believed he was dead. They went to offer condolences to the Messenger (PBUH), and the Companions were shocked by the news, but the Messenger (PBUH) said reassuringly and confidently, "`Ammaar is not dead. The tyrant party will kill `Ammaar."

Who was this party? And where? When? `Ammaar listened to the prophecy in a way that showed he knew the great Messenger's truth of perception. Yet, he was not horrified. Since becoming a Muslim he had been expecting death and martyrdom every moment of the day and night.

Days and years passed. The Messenger (PBUH) went to the Supreme Companion, followed by Abu Bakr and then 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them). `Uthmaan Ibn `Affaan, "The Man of Two Lights", became caliph. Conspiracies against Islam were doing their best, trying to gain by treachery and sedition what they lost in war. `Umar's death was the first success achieved by these conspiracies blowing on Al-Madiinah as a breeze of poison from those countries whose sovereignty and thrones Islam had destroyed. They were tempted by `Umar's martyrdom to continue their efforts, so they followed and awakened seditions in most Islamic countries.
In addition, `Uthmaan might not have given the matter the attention, care, and response it deserved, so the incident happened and `Uthmaan was martyred and the doors of seditions were opened on the Muslims. Mu'aawiyah started fighting the new caliph, `Aliy (May Allah glorify his face) for his right in the matter and for the caliphate. The Companions had different stances. Some of them washed their hands of the whole matter and went home, making Ibn `Umar's words their motto:

To the one who says, "Come to prayer," I will respond.
To the one who says, "Come to success," I will respond.
But to the one who says, "Come to kill your Muslim brother and to take his money," I will say, "No."

Some Muslims were partial to Mu'aawiyah, others were partial to `Aliy, the one who demanded the pledge of allegiance to him as the Muslims' caliph. Where do you think `Ammaar would stand? Where should he stand, the man about whom the Messenger of Allah said, "Follow the guidance of `Ammaar," and, "Whoever antagonizes `Ammaar, will be antagonized by Allah"?

The man who, if he approached the house of Allah's Messenger (PBUH), the latter would say, "Welcome the good-scented, kind man, allow him to come in"?

He stood by `Aliy lbn Abi Taalib, not as a prejudiced, biased person, but as one complying with the truth and keeping his promise. `Aliy was the Caliph of the Muslims and had the pledge of allegiance to be its leader (lmam). He took the caliphate and he was worthy of it. Above all, `Aliy had the qualities that made his place to the Messenger of Allah as that of Haaruun (Aaron) to Muusaa (Moses). `Ammaar, who always turned towards the truth wherever it was to enlighten his insight and loyalty to the possessor of truth in that fight, turned to `Aliy on that day and stood by him. `Aliy (May Allah be pleased with him) was overjoyed with `Ammaar's pledge and trusted that he was right in his demand because the great man of truth, `Ammaar Ibn Yaasir, approached and went with him.

The terrible Day of siffiin arrived. Imam `Aliy came out to face the serious rebellion which he felt he had to curb. `Ammaar came out with him, and he was 93 years old then. Imagine, a man of 93 going to fight! It is true, as long as he believed that fighting was his responsibility and duty. In fact, he fought more strongly and better than a man of 30. He was the man who was constantly silent, who spoke little. When he moved his lips, he moved them to supplicate, "I seek Allah's protection from sedition. I seek Allah's protection from sedition."

And after the passing away of the Messenger of Allah, these words remained his constant supplication. As days passed, he used to seek Allah's protection more, as if his pure heart felt the coming danger as the days went on. When it did happen and the sedition occurred, Ibn Sumaiyah knew his place, so he stood in siffiin carrying his sword, a man of 93 to support a right which he believed should be supported.

He declared his opinion about that fighting: O people, let us be directed to the people who claim they are avenging 'Uthmaan. By Allah, their intention is not revenge, but they have tasted worldly things and are pleased with them. They know that truth keeps them away from what they enjoy of lust and their world. Those people had no precedent in the past to keep Muslims in obedience to them or in their support. Their hearts have not felt awe towards Allah to force them to follow the truth. They deceive the people by claiming they are avenging `Uthmaan's death. They seek nothing but to be tyrants and kings."

He then took the standard in his hand, raised ! high and fluttering above their heads and shouted, "By Allah in Whose hands my soul lies, I fought with this standard with the Messenger of Allah, and here I am fighting with it today. By Allah, if they defeat us until they reach the palm trees of Hajar, I would still believe we are in the right and they are following the wrong." People followed Ammaar and trusted his words.

`Abu `Abd Ar-Rahman As-Sulamiy reported: "We witnessed with `Aliy (may Allah be pleased with him) the Battle of Siffiin, and I saw `Ammaar (may Allah be pleased with him) not taking one turn nor one of its valleys but the Companions of Muhammad (PBUH) would follow him as if he were their standard!"

When `Ammaar was engaged in the battle he knew he was one of its martyrs. The Messenger's prophecy was illuminated in big letters in front of his eyes, "The tyrant party will kill `Ammaar." For that reason his voice was ringing over the horizon of the battle with the following tune, "Today, I meet the dear ones, Muhammad and his Companions." He would then rush like a high arrow towards Mu'aawiyah's position and surround him, singing loudly:

We hit you at its first revelation,

Now we hit you again for its interpretation;
A hitting that removes respect from one's eyes,
And distracts the lover from his lass,
Or restores the right to its own place.

He meant by this that the former Companions of the Messenger (PBUH) -`Ammaar was one of them - had fought Umayyids in the past who were headed by Abu Sufyaan bearing the standard of polytheism and leading its army. They had fought them in the past as the glorious Qur'aan was openly commanding Muslims to fight disbelievers. As for today, even though they were Muslims and were not openly commanded by the Qur`aan to fight them, yet `Ammaar's search for truth and his comprehension of the aims and goals of the Qur'aan persuaded them to fight so that the usurped right would be restored to its people and the fire of rebellion and sedition would be extinguished once and for all. It also signified that in the past they fought Umayyids for their disbelief in faith and in the Qur'aan. Today they were fighting them for deviating from faith and their turning away from the Qur'aan, their wrong interand explanation, and their attempts to alter its verses and meaning to their aims and greedy wishes.

This man of 93 was involved in the last battle of his noble and brave life. He was giving the last lesson about perseverence in truth, and bequeathing to life the last of his great, honest, and edifying attitudes.

Mu`aawiyah's men attempted to avoid Ammaar as much as they could so as not to kill him with their swords and people would say they were the "tyrant party". Yet, `Ammaar was fighting as if he were a whole army and his bravery made them mad, so some of Mu'aawiyah's soldiers waited for a chance to hit him.

* * *

Mu'aawiyah`s army had many regular soldiers from among the new Muslims who had embraced Islam at the beating of the drums in the Islamic conquest in many of the countries liberated by Islam from the power of the Romans and Persians. Most of these soldiers were the fuel of the civil war caused by the rebellion of Mu'aawiyah and his refusal to pledge allegiance to `Aliy as Caliph and Imam. They were the fuel and the oil of the battle that enflamed it.

The disagreement, in spite of its seriousness, could have terminated peacefully if the affairs had remained with the early Muslims. However, it was no sooner formed than it was taken by many hands that did not care about the fate of Islam, and they kept adding fuel to the disagreement. At noon the news of `Ammaar's death spread, and the Muslims went on repeating to one another the prophecy of Allah's Messenger (PBUH) which had been heard by all the Companions on the day of the festival while building the mosque: "Alas for Ibn Sumaiyah, killed by the tyrant party."

Now people knew who was the "tyrant party". It was the one that had killed Ammaar, no other but Mu'aawiyah's party. Aliy's Companions became more and more convinced of this fact. As for Mu'aawiyah's party, their hearts became suspicious, and some prepared to mutiny and turn to Aliy.

No sooner did Mu'aawiyah hear of what had happened than he came out announcing to the people that the prophecy was right, and the Messenger (PBUH) really prophesied that `Ammaar was going to be killed by the tyrant party. But who killed `Ammaar? Then he shouted to the people of his party, "He was surely killed by those who came with him out of his house and brought him to the battle." Some people who were inclined towards that interpretation were deceived, and the battle continued till the end.

* * *

As for `Ammaar, Imam `Aliy carried him on his chest to where he and the other Muslims prayed, and then he was buried in his own clothes. Yes, in his blood-smeared clothes which had a pure and good smell. No silk material in the whole world could have been more suitable for the shroud of a graceful martyr and a great saint like `Ammaar.

Muslims stood at his grave wondering. A few hours before, `Ammaar had been singing over the battlefield, filled with the delight of the tired stranger who was returning happily home. He had been shouting, "Today I meet the dear ones, Muhammad and his Companions." Did he have a meeting time with them, an exact time to wait for him?

Some Companions approached each other, inquiring. One of them asked, "Do you remember the twilight of that day in Al Madiinah when we were sitting with allah's Messenger (PBUH) and suddenly his face brightened and he said, "Paradise is longing for `Ammaar'?" His friend answered, "Yes, on that day he mentioned others, among which were' `Aliy, Salmaan and Bilaal."

Paradise then was longing for `Ammaar. The longing remained for a long time while he was urging it to wait in order to accomplish all his tasks and complete the last of his achievements. He did them all following his conscience and feeling delight for his achievement. Was it not then time to comply with the call of longing coming from Paradise? Sure, it was: good is rewarded by good. That was how he threw aside his lance and went.

When the dust of his grave was being leveled on his body by his companions, his soul was embracing its happy destiny there in the eternity of Paradise that was longing for `Ammaar!.

(15)
`UBAADAH IBN AS -SAAMIT

A Representative in Allah's Party !



As one of the Ansaar he was mentioned in the Prophet's words "If the Ansaar chose to move in a certain direction, I would follow them. By Allah, if there had been no emigration, I would have chosen to be one of the Ansaar." `Ubaadah Ibn As-saamit was not only one of the Ansaar, but also one of their reknown leaders whom the Prophet (PBUH) chose to represent their people and tribes. When the first Ansaar delegation arrived at Makkah to make the oath of allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH), Ubaadah (May Allah be pleased with him) was one of the 12 believers who pledged allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH), embraced Islam, and clasped the Prophet's hand in support and loyalty! In the Second Pledge of Al `Aqabah, `Ubaadah was one of the leaders of the 70 men and two women and also one of the representatives of the Ansaar who gave his pledge to the Prophet (PBUH) during the Hajj season.

Ever since, Ubaadah never missed a battle or fell short of a sacrifice, as the arena at that time offered a kaleidoscope of self- sacrifice, valor, courage, and defiance. Since he chose Allah and His Prophet, he exerted himself to fulfill his obligations towards his religion. Therefore, his loyalty and obedience to Allah and his relationship with his relatives, allies, and enemies were all molded in a way so as to be compatible with the faith and conduct that a Muslim should have.

In the past, `Ubaadah's family had been tied in alliance with the Jews of Bani Qainuqaa' in Al-Madiinah. Since the Prophet and his Companions emigrated to Al-Madiinah, the Jews pretended to be on good terms with them; but after the Battle of Badr and a little while before the Battle of Uhud the Jews of Al- Madiinah began to show their true colors. Consequently, one of the Jewish tribes, Bani Qainuqaa', fabricated reasons for commotion and strife against the Muslims.

As soon as `Ubaadah realized their real intention, he decidedly threw aside their ancient treaty and said, "I take Allah, His Prophet, and those who have believed in Him as my protectors." The Qur'aan descended on the Prophet (PBUH) to support, salute, and praise `Ubaadah's loyal and steadfast attitude saying, " And whosoever takes Allah, His Messenger, and those who have believed as Protectors, then the party of Allah will be victorious" (5: 56).


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Thus, the glorious verse announced the establishment of Allah's party, the members of which were the believers who stood firm by the Prophet's side and advocated the banner of right guidance and truth. They were regarded as the blessed blossom of the seed sown by their predecessors, who did their utmost to support their Messenger and invite people to believe in Allah the Ever-Living, the One Who Sustains and Protects all that exists. This newly born party of Allah would not only include the Companions of the Prophet, but also encompass the true believers of all future generations and times until Allah inherits the earth and whatever is with Him.

`Ubaadah, whose loyal and faithful attitude the verse praised, was not only a representative of the Al-Khazraj tribe, but was also one of the leaders of the pious and righteous Muslims who would always be looked upon by future generations throughout the world as a symbol of chivalry and discipline. His immortal history will forever resound throughout the world.

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One day `Ubaadah heard the Prophet talking about the responsibilities and obligations of commanders and governors and the punishment that awaited any one of them who abused his authority and manipulated the money entrusted to him. His words shook him so severely that he swore never to accept command, even over two people. He kept this oath. When the Commander of the Faithful `Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab (May Allah be pleased with him) became the caliph, he could not prevail on `Ubaadah to accept any influential position except educating and instructing people in Islamic religion. Indeed, this was the appropriate field for `Ubaadah, away from influential positions that might jeopardize his faith with precarious arrogance, power, and wealth.

Therefore, he traveled with Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal and Abu Ad- Dardaa' to Syria, where they illuminated the country with knowledge, fiqh, and enlightment. Afterward, `ubaadah traveled to Palestine, where Mu'aawiyah held jurisdiction in the name of the caliph.

When `Ubaadah lbn As-Saamit finally settled down in Syria, he always looked to Al-Madiinah as the capital of Islam and as the center of the caliphate where `Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, a master- mind and a peerless man, lived. Then he turned around and looked over Palestine, where Mu'aawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyaan, a worldly-minded and a power hungry man, ruled.

`Ubaadah was, indeed, one of those blessed men who lived the best and the most accomplished days of their lives with the Prophet (PBUH). Those men who gained experience through struggle were cast in the same mold of conflict, struggle, and self-sacrifice. `Ubaadah had embraced Islam out of conviction rather than fear. Indeed, he sold himself and his fortune to Allah. He was one of the men who were brought up and disciplined by Muhammad (PBUH), who infused them with his wisdom, enlightenment, and greatness. To `Ubaadah, one of the most excellent models of the man in power was `Umar. Naturally, if `Ubaadah tried to judge Mu'aawiyah's conduct and character according to those standards, the result would not be in his favor and conflict would be inevitable. And that is exactly what happened.


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`Ubaadah used to say, "We have given a pledge to the Prophet (PBUH) never to be afraid of anyone but Allah." `Ubaadah was a man who kept his pledges; therefore, he never feared Mu'aawiyah. Although Mu'aawiyah was in authority, `Ubaadah had already taken oath to stand fast and expose his wrongdoings.

Consequently, the people of Palestine watched him closely, holding their breath with astonishment, for the news of the fearless opposition led by `Ubaadah resounded across the world of Islam and was regarded as an outstanding example that should be followed. Notwithstanding the patience and tolerance Mu'aawiyah was famous for, he soon got tired of `Ubaadah's opposition, for he considered it a direct threat to his authority. Finally, when `Ubaadah realized that the gap between him and Mu`aawiyah was widening fatally, he addressed Mu'aawiyah saying, "By Allah, I will never live in the same land with a man like you." Consequently, he left Palestine and returned to Al- Madiinah.

Definitely, Umar was a man of outstanding perception and insight. He was so careful to surround governors like Mu'aawiyah, who manipulated their cleverness for their own interest, with a group of ascetic, pious, and steadfast Companions and advisers. He aimed at curbing their aspiration and avarice and reminding them of the era of the Prophet and his great feats.

Therefore, no sooner had the Commander of the Faithful `Umar Ibn Al Khattaab seen `Ubaadah in Al-Madiinah than he asked him, "What brought you back to Al-Madiinah?" When `Ubaadah told him about his dispute with Mu'aawiyah he ordered him, "Go back to where you belong. By Allah, any land that has no one like you living in it is a wasteland." `Umar immediately sent a message to Mu'aawiyah saying, "You are not to rule over `Ubaadah." Indeed, `Ubaadah was a commander of himself. When a man like `Umar held `Ubaadah in such high regard, then, undoubtedly, he must be a great and worthy man. `Ubaadah's greatness was unveiled through his faith, conscientiousness, and discipline.

This sensible representative of the Ansaar and Islam died in A.H. 34, and his memory and history will forever be cherished and honored by all Muslims.

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KHABBAAB IBN AL-ARAT

A Master in the Art of Self-Sacrifice



A group of the Quraish hastened to Khabbaab's house to take the swords they had asked him to make. Khabbaab was a swordmaker who sold his wares to the people of Makkah or sent them to its market.

It was not like Khabbaab to leave his house and work; therefore, the Quraish sat there and waited for his return. After a long time, Khabbaab arrived. His face was bright with questions, and his eyes were filled with graceful tears. He immediately greeted his guests and sat down. They asked him in a hurry, ''Khabbaab, did you finish making our swords?! There were no more tears in his eyes. Instead, his eyes were filled with bright delight. He spoke as if to himself, "It makes me wonder!"

His clients asked him, `What makes you wonder? We ask you about our swords. Did you finish them?!'

Khabbaab gazed at them as if he were hypnotized. Then he asked them, "Did you see him? Did you hear him?" They looked at one another in astonishment. Then one of them asked slyly, "Did you see him Khabbaab?" Khabbaab asked, "Whom do you mean?" turning the tables on him. The man answered, irritatedly, "I mean the same person that you mean!"

Khabbaab answered after he had exhibited his invulnerability to their attempts to wrest information from him. He wanted to prove to them that if he were to confess his faith before them, he would announce it in public and would not be duped or led on. He would announce his Islam because he saw and embraced what was right.

He was still suspended in his ecstasy and spiritual upliftment when he answered, "Yes, I did see and hear him. As a matter of fact, I have seen him enveloped and illuminated by truth."

Suddenly, the Quraishi clients began to realize what he meant; therefore one of them shouted, "Who are you talking about, you slave of Umm `Ammaar?" Khabbaab answered with saintly quietude, "Who else but the brother Arab. Who else of your people is enveloped and illuminated by truth?"

Another shouted and jumped in terror, "Do you mean Muhammad? "Khabbaab nodded in satisfaction and said, "Yes, he is the Messenger of Allah to us, to bring us out of the darkness of disbelief into the light of belief."

No sooner had he finished these words than he fell unconscious. The only thing he remembered was waking up after long hours to find his clients gone and his body full of bleeding bruises and wounds! Nevertheless, his wide eyes encompassed his surroundings as if the place was too narrow for his penetrating stare. Despite the pain, he rose and went into the open, limping his way out of his house, leaning on the wall.

His noble eyes embarked on a long, perpetual journey roaming about the horizon. He was not searching for the familiar dimensions of people, but rather for the missing dimension. Indeed, his eyes traveled in search of the missing dimension in his life, in Makkah, and in the life of people everywhere and at all times. He wondered if what he had heard from the Prophet on that day was the light that leads to the missing dimension in the life of all people.

Khabbaab was wrapped in sublime contemplation and deep thought. Then he went home to treat his wounds and prepare himself for a new round of torture and pain.

From that day, Khabbaab occupied a foremost place among the oppressed and tortured who, notwithstanding their poverty and weakness, rose against the Quraish's haughtiness, tyranny, and madness. He was high in rank among those believers who were devoted to the standard of Islam that fluttered on the boundless horizon. It sounded the end of the era of paganism and despotism to announce the dawn of a new world, the sovereign of which is Allah, Who is worshipped alone by people who obey Him and do righteous deeds sincerely for His sake, and not to show off or set up rivals with Him in worship. Moreover, it announced the glad tidings of the emergence of the weak and oppressed people who would stand up as one man under the standard of Islam and would stand on equal terms with those who used and abused them in the past. Khabbaab withstood the consequences that ensued after embracing Islam with an outstanding courage that was becoming of a pioneer of Islam. Ash-Sha'biy narrated,

"Khabbaab withstood all the horrors that the polytheists exposed him too. They went so far as to place burning stones onto his naked back until his flesh came off." Indeed, Khabbaab had his share of horrible torture, yet his resistance and patience were extraordinary. For instance, the polytheists of the Quraish turned all the iron they could find in Khabbaab's place - which he had used to make swords - into fetters and chains. They put them under the fire until they blazed, then chained his body, hands, and legs with them.

One day, Khabbaab went with some of his oppressed brethren to the Prophet (PBUH) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, please ask Allah to bestow his victory and safety on us." This was an expression of hope in Allah's safety rather than of faint-heartedness and feebleness.

Now, let us hear the story as told by Khabbaab himself: One day, we went to the Prophet and found him laying his head on a garment in the shade of the Ka'bah, so we said to him, "O Messenger of Allah, we hope that you will ask Allah to bestow His victory and safety on us." Instantly, the Prophet sat up, and his face reddened as he said, "Not a long time ago, men like you who believed in Allah used to be dragged into a ditch where they were sawed from the head downwards, yet this didn't make them turn back from their religion. They also used to comb them with iron combs that split their flesh and bones, yet they didn't turn their backs on their religion. Believe me, Allah will put an end to all your sufferings and grant you victory so much so that one day, a man will travel from San'aa' to Hadramawt and fear no one but Allah and the wolf, lest it should devour his sheep. But you have no patience."

As soon as Khabbaab and his comrades heard these words, they seemed to have reached the apex of certainty and determination. Therefore, they decided to show Allah and the Prophet (PBUH) nothing but will, patience, and self-sacrifice. Khabbaab then walked patiently yet decidedly into the dungeons of hell.

The Quraish were maddened by his steadfastness and endurance; therefore, they decided to seek the help of his former slave mistress, Umm Ammaar, who became Khabbaab's principal torturer. For instance, she used to place burning iron on Khabbaab's head, yet Khabbaab deliberately controlled himself so as to deprive his torturer of the joy of hearing him moan. One day, the Prophet (PBUH) saw his head burned and blackened by the hot iron. His heart was full of sympathy and anguish, but there was nothing that he could do at that time but to supplicate Allah to our forth patience on him and strengthen his faith. Thus the Prophet (PBUH) raised his hands and supplicated,"Allah, make Khabbaab victorious over the disbelieving people."

Allah brought it about a few days later. Retaliation befell Umm `Ammaar as if destiny meant it as an ultimatum to the rest of the torturers. She suffered a peculiar, acute rabies attack that made her, according to historians, bark like dogs. At that time, she was told that the only cure for her ordeal was to cauterize her head. Finally, her stubborn head burned day and night with burning iron.

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All in all, the Quraish fought faith with torture, while the believers fought torture with self-sacrifice. Khabbaab was one of those whom Allah had chosen to take their place among the masters of self-denial and sacrifice.

Not only had Khabbaab (May Allah be pleased wih him) devoted his time to the service of the new religion, but also to worshiping, praying, and instucting. He used to visit his brothers who hid their Islam in dread of the Quraish's tyranny and despotism. There, he used to read the Qur'aan and instruct them. He was, truly, a genius in studying every surah and verse in the Qur'aan. Even `Abd Allah Ibn Mas'uud, whom the Prophet praised by saying, "He who wants to read the Qur'aan in exactly the same way it descended on me, should imitate lbn Umm `Abd", considered Khabbaab as a reference to all that concerns the Qur'aan, whether as a text or a textbook.

Khabbaab was the one who was teaching the Qur'aan to Faatimah Bint Al-Khattaab and her husband Sa'iid Ion Zaid, when `Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab thrust his way right into their house with unsheathed sword so as to settle his account with Islam and the Prophet (PBUII). Allah willed that as soon as `Umar heard the verse in the scroll being recited in a slow and pleasant voice by Khabbaab, he cried out, "Tell me where Muhammad is!" when Khabbaab heard `Umar's words, he came out of his hiding place and said, "`Umar, by Allah, I do hope that Allah chose you to fulfil the Prophet's supplication. For yesterday, I heard the Prophet say, `Allah, please support Islam with whom You love best, either Abi Al-Hakam Ibn Hishaam or `Umar Ibn Al- Khabbaab."' `Umar repeated his question, "Where is Muhammad now?" Khabbaab answered, "At As-Safaa in Daar Al-Arqam Ibn Abi Arqam." At that very moment, `Umar ascended towards his great fortune and blessed destiny.

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Khabbaab witnessed all the battles and wars side by side with the Prophet. He treasured his faith and certainty throughout his life.

When the Muslim treasury (Bait Al-Maal) overflowed with money during the caliphates of `Umar and `Uthmaan (May Allah be pleased with them both), Khabbaab had a large salary as one of the foremost Muslim Muhaajiruun.

This abundant income enabled Khabbaab to build himself a house in Kufa. He used to put his money where all his friends, visitors, and those in need could find it. Nevertheless, whenever the Prophet (PBUH) and the Companions who sacrificed their lives for Allah and met Him before the Muslims became victorious and wealthy were mentioned, his eyes filled with tears and he became sleepless.

Listen to him talking to his brothers who came to visit him on his deathbed. They said, "Be content, Abu `Abd Allah; you will meet your brothers tomorrow." His eyes flowed with tears as he answered, "I am not crying out of fear of death, but you reminded me of the brothers who left this life without enjoying any of its splendor or luxury, yet we have lived on until we have sucked in its splendor and wealth to the extent that we placed this wealth on the sand," and he pointed to his newly-built humble house. Then he pointed to the place where he kept his money and exclaimed, `By Allah, I have never refused to give it to anyone who asked me for it, as if the strings were his." Then he looked upon his shroud and said weeping, "Look, this is my shroud." He considered it extravagant and luxurious. He then said, "Yet Hamzah the Prophet's uncle, on the day of his martyrdom had nothing to be used for a shroud but a torn garment which if placed on his head, would show his feet, and if placed on his feet, would show his head."

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Khabbaab died in A.H. 37. Alas, the swordmaker in paganism died. The master of self-denial and sacrifice in Islam died. He was one of the group of believers in whose defense the Qur'aan descended on the Prophet when the elite of the Quraish pleaded with the Prophet to assign a day for them and another for the poor Muslims like Khabbaab, Suhaib and Bilaal. However, the great Qur'aan embraced those men of Allah to honor and glorify, and these verses descended on the noble Prophet: "And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon, seeking His Face. You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing, that you may turn them away and thus become of the Zalimun (unjust). Thus We have tried some of them with others, that they might say: "Is it these (poor believers) that Allah has favoured from amongst us?" Does not Allah know best those who are grateful? When those who believe in our Ayat (verses) come to you, say: "Salamun `Alaikum" (peace be on you); your Lord has written Mercy for Himself" (6 : 52).

Thus, whenever the Prophet saw them after the descent of these verses, he took special care to honor them, so much so that he spread out his garment so that they would sit on it next to him and patted them on their shoulders saying, "I welcome you whom Allah enjoined me to favor.

It was indeed a tragic loss when one of the pious, noble, and legitimate sons of revelation and the generation of sacrifice died.

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All in all, perhaps the best farewell to Khabbaab was the words of Imam `Aliy (May Allah be pleased with him) when he was on his way back from siffiin and saw a recently dug moist grave and asked about the deceased.

They answered, `It is Khabbaab's grave." Then he contemplated in reverence and sorrow, "O Allah, bestow Your mercy on Khabbaab, for You know that he was a true Muslim, an obedient Muhaajir and a determined mujaahid who strove hard in the cause of Allah."